VA HB 531
Status unknownAbortion; born alive infant, treatment and care, penalty.
Virginia · 2026 Regular Session · lower
Quick answers
Did VA HB 531 pass?
The current status of VA HB 531 is not known from the official record. Latest recorded action (2026-02-03): Subcommittee recommends passing by indefinitely (7-Y 3-N)
What is VA HB 531 about?
Abortion; born alive infant; treatment and care; penalty. Requires every health care provider licensed by the Board of Medicine who attempts to terminate a pregnancy to (i) exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of a human infant who has been born alive following such attempt as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age and (ii) take all reasonable steps to ensure the immediate transfer of the human infant who has been born alive to a hospital for further medical care. A health care provider who fails to comply with the requirements of the bill is guilty of a Class 4 felony and may be subject to disciplinary action by the Board. The bill also requires every hospital licensed by the Department of Health to establish a protocol for the treatment and care of a human infant who has been born alive following an attempt to terminate a pregnancy and for the immediate reporting to law enforcement of any failure to provide such required treatment and care.
Who sponsors VA HB 531?
Karen Hamilton is the primary sponsor of VA HB 531.
Description
Abortion; born alive infant; treatment and care; penalty. Requires every health care provider licensed by the Board of Medicine who attempts to terminate a pregnancy to (i) exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of a human infant who has been born alive following such attempt as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age and (ii) take all reasonable steps to ensure the immediate transfer of the human infant who has been born alive to a hospital for further medical care. A health care provider who fails to comply with the requirements of the bill is guilty of a Class 4 felony and may be subject to disciplinary action by the Board. The bill also requires every hospital licensed by the Department of Health to establish a protocol for the treatment and care of a human infant who has been born alive following an attempt to terminate a pregnancy and for the immediate reporting to law enforcement of any failure to provide such required treatment and care.
- Introduced
- 2026-01-13
- Latest action
- 2026-02-03 — Subcommittee recommends passing by indefinitely (7-Y 3-N)
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Sponsors
- Karen Hamiltonprimary
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
2026-01-13
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102672D
filing,introduction
2026-01-13
Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (1/13/2026 1:17 pm)
2026-01-13
Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services
referral-committee
2026-01-21
Assigned sub: Health
referral-committee
2026-02-03
Subcommittee recommends passing by indefinitely (7-Y 3-N)
Versions
Documents
Votes
Subcommittee recommends passing by indefinitely
2026-02-03 · pass · 7-3
Member-level votes (10)
- Patrick A. Hope: yes
- Marcia S. "Cia" Price: yes
- Sam Rasoul: yes
- Charniele L. Herring: yes
- Irene Shin: yes
- Mark C. Downey: yes
- Garrett McGuire: yes
- M. Keith Hodges: no
- Wendell S. Walker: no
- H. Otto Wachsmann, Jr.: no
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:35:59.552682Z
Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:
Use this data
Every field on this page is available from the free public API — no key or licence required. Fetch this bill as JSON: GET /api/v1/bills?jurisdiction=VA&identifier=HB 531. See the API docs or the MCP server for AI assistants.
Known limitations
- Sponsor party and chamber affiliation are not yet captured by this API.
- Committee referrals are not yet captured.
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