II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4469 

To direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe rules prohibiting 

disinformation in the advertising of abortion services, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2022 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Ms. WARREN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. 

BOOKER, Ms. SMITH, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. MURRAY, 

Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe rules 

prohibiting disinformation in the advertising of abortion 

services, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Anti-Abortion 

5 Disinformation Act’’ or the ‘‘SAD Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Abortion services are an essential compo2 nent of reproductive health care. 

3 (2) The freedom to decide whether and when to 

4 have a child is key to the ability of an individual to 

5 participate fully in our democracy. 

6 (3) Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are anti7 abortion organizations that present themselves as 

8 comprehensive reproductive health care providers 

9 with the intent of discouraging pregnant people from 

10 having abortions. 

11 (4) According to the Journal of Medical Inter12 net Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveil13 lance, there are more than 2,500 CPCs in the 

14 United States, though some anti-abortion groups 

15 claim that the number is closer to 4,000. 

16 (5) According to 2020 data from JMIR Public 

17 Health and Surveillance, on average, CPCs out18 number abortion clinics nationwide by an average of 

19 3 to 1. In some States, this statistic is higher. For 

20 example, The Alliance: State Advocates for Women’s 

21 Rights & Gender Equality (‘‘The Alliance’’) found 

22 that in Pennsylvania, CPCs outnumber abortion 

23 clinics by 9 to 1. The Alliance also found that in 

24 Minnesota, CPCs outnumber abortion clinics by 11 

25 to 1. 


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1 (6) CPCs routinely engage in a variety of de2 ceptive tactics, including making false claims about 

3 reproductive health care and providers, dissemi4 nating inaccurate, misleading, and stigmatizing in5 formation about the risks of abortion and contracep6 tion, and using illegitimate or false citations to 

7 imply that deceptive claims are supported by legiti8 mate medical sources. 

9 (7) CPCs typically advertise themselves as pro10 viders of comprehensive health care. However, most 

11 CPCs in the United States do not employ licensed 

12 medical personnel or provide referrals for birth con13 trol or abortion care. 

14 (8) By using these deceptive tactics, CPCs pre15 vent people from accessing reproductive health care 

16 and intentionally delay access to time-sensitive abor17 tion services. 

18 (9) CPCs target under-resourced neighborhoods 

19 and communities of color, including Black, Latino, 

20 Indigenous, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and 

21 immigrant communities, by locating their facilities 

22 near social services centers and comprehensive re23 productive health care providers. CPCs place adver24 tisements in these neighborhoods that mislead and 

25 draw people away from nearby providers that offer 


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1 evidence-based sexual and reproductive health care, 

2 including abortion care. This exacerbates existing 

3 health barriers and delays access to time-sensitive 

4 care. 

5 (10) People are entitled to honest, accurate, 

6 and timely information when seeking reproductive 

7 health care. 

8 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON DISINFORMATION OF ABORTION 

9 SERVICES. 

10 (a) CONDUCT PROHIBITED.— 

11 (1) RULE REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

12 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

13 Commission shall, in accordance with section 553 of 

14 title 5, United States Code, promulgate rules to pro15 hibit a person from advertising with the use of mis16 leading statements related to the provision of abor17 tion services. 

18 (2) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.—A 

19 violation of a rule promulgated under paragraph (1) 

20 shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an 

21 unfair or deceptive act or practice under section 

22 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

23 (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). Except as otherwise pro24 vided, the Commission shall enforce such rule in the 

25 same manner, by the same means, and with the 


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1 same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all 

2 applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 

3 Commission Act were incorporated into and made a 

4 part of this section. Any person who violates this 

5 section shall be subject to the penalties and entitled 

6 to the privileges and immunities provided in the 

7 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 

8 seq.). 

9 (3) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—The Com10 mission shall enforce this section with respect to an 

11 organization that is not organized to carry on busi12 ness for its own profit or that of its members as if 

13 such organization were a person over which the 

14 Commission has authority pursuant to section 

15 5(a)(2) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

16 U.S.C. 45(a)(2)). 

17 (4) CIVIL PENALTY.—In addition to any other 

18 penalty as may be prescribed by law, in an action 

19 brought by the Commission under this section, the 

20 total civil penalty shall not exceed the greater of— 

21 (A) $100,000; or 

22 (B) 50 percent of the revenues earned by 

23 the ultimate parent entity of a person during 

24 the preceding 12-month period. 


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1 (5) INDEPENDENT LITIGATION AUTHORITY.—If 

2 the Commission has reason to believe that a person 

3 has violated this section, the Commission may bring 

4 a civil action in any appropriate United States dis5 trict court to— 

6 (A) enjoin any further such violation by 

7 such person; 

8 (B) enforce compliance with this section; 

9 (C) obtain a permanent, temporary, or pre10 liminary injunction; 

11 (D) obtain civil penalties; 

12 (E) obtain damages, restitution, or other 

13 compensation on behalf of aggrieved consumers; 

14 or 

15 (F) obtain any other appropriate equitable 

16 relief. 

17 (b) REPORTS.— 

18 (1) REPORT ON PLAN FOR ENFORCEMENT.— 

19 Not later than 60 days after the date on which a 

20 final rule under subsection (a)(1) is issued, the Com21 mission shall submit to Congress a report detailing 

22 a plan to enforce the rule. 

23 (2) BIANNUAL REPORTS.—Beginning one year 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

25 every 2 years thereafter, the Commission shall subVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 30, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4469.IS S4469

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1 mit to Congress a report that includes, with respect 

2 to the previous year, a description of any enforce3 ment action by the Commission under this Act, any 

4 rule promulgated pursuant to this Act, and the out5 comes of such actions. 

6 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

7 (1) ABORTION SERVICES.—The term ‘‘abortion 

8 services’’ means the provision of surgical and non9 surgical procedures to terminate a pregnancy or a 

10 referral for such procedures. 

11 (2) ADVERTISE.—The term ‘‘advertise’’ means 

12 offering or providing goods or services to the public, 

13 regardless of whether such goods or services are of14 fered for payment or result in a profit. 

15 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

16 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

17 (4) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 

18 meaning given that term in section 551(2) of title 5, 

19 United States Code. 

Æ 


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