III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 526 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that politicians should not interfere 

with a woman’s personal health care decisions or attempt to prevent 

providers from offering their full medical recommendations to their patients. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2018 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. BALDWIN, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) submitted 

the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, 

Education, Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that politicians should 

not interfere with a woman’s personal health care decisions or attempt to prevent providers from offering their 

full medical recommendations to their patients. 

Whereas, since the enactment of title X of the Public Health 

Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.) (referred to in this 

preamble as the ‘‘title X family planning program’’) nearly half a century ago, the title X family planning program has provided family planning and related preventive 

health care services to those most in need and has enjoyed broad bipartisan support; 

Whereas the title X family planning program was created to 

assist in making comprehensive voluntary family planning 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 526 IS 

services readily available to all individuals desiring those 

services and to enable public and nonprofit private entities to plan and develop comprehensive programs that 

provide those family planning services; 

Whereas the title X family planning program serves 

4,000,000 individuals each year, many of whom would 

otherwise be unable to access the types of health care 

services supported under the title X family planning program; 

Whereas the title X family planning program helps ensure 

that every individual, regardless of where the individual 

lives, how much money the individual earns, the background of the individual, or whether or not the individual 

has health insurance, has access to basic, preventive reproductive health care, such as birth control, cancer 

screenings, sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, and well-woman exams; 

Whereas the title X family planning program serves a racially 

and ethnically diverse patient base, not less than 1⁄3 of 

patients served under the title X family planning program are people of color, and 13 percent of patients 

served under the title X family planning program have 

limited proficiency in English; 

Whereas, for decades, individuals receiving services supported 

under the title X family planning program have been 

given the full range of information needed to make fully 

informed decisions about their own pregnancy options, including access to safe and legal abortion; 

Whereas efforts to stigmatize abortion care and providers of 

abortion care undermine the ability of patients to make 

fully informed health care decisions; 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 526 IS 

Whereas the Code of Medical Ethics of the American Medical 

Association states that health care providers should 

‘‘[p]resent relevant information accurately and sensitively, in keeping with the patient’s preferences’’ and that 

‘‘withholding information without the patient’s knowledge 

or consent is ethically unacceptable’’; 

Whereas the 1982 report of the President’s Commission for 

the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and in Biomedical and Behavioral Research stated that, ‘‘a physician is obliged to mention all alternative treatments, including those he or she does not provide or favor, so long 

as they are supported by respectable medical opinion’’; 

Whereas any policy that denies a patient seeking care from 

a health care provider receiving support under the title 

X family planning program full and accurate information 

on and referral for health care services, including abortion care, violates basic medical ethics by forcing the 

health care provider to withhold health care information 

from the patient and by denying the basic right of the 

patient to informed consent; 

Whereas health care providers receiving support under the 

title X family planning program must not be subject to 

any limitation on providing full and accurate information 

so that those health care providers may communicate 

freely with patients and exercise their medical judgment 

in order to provide the safest and most beneficial medical 

treatment for each patient; and 

Whereas any policy that seeks to prevent health care providers receiving support under the title X family planning 

program from providing full and accurate information 

and referral for health care services threatens patient 

health, discourages honest conversation, and undermines 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 526 IS 

the vital relationship between health care providers and 

patients, who rely on their health care providers for complete and accurate information: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate— 

2 (1) to recognize that the health of a patient 

3 should always come first and patients must be able 

4 to rely on their health care providers for medically 

5 accurate and evidence-based information about the 

6 full range of health care options, including informa7 tion about access to safe and legal abortion; 

8 (2) to urge the development and maintenance of 

9 trust between patients and health care providers by 

10 protecting the ability of health care providers to give 

11 complete medical advice and information in order to 

12 ensure no harm to patient health; 

13 (3) to encourage efforts to enhance patient 

14 quality of care and access to confidential and safe 

15 care for all patients; 

16 (4) to support efforts to promote the health 

17 care safety net; 

18 (5) to recognize that any nationwide gag rule 

19 prohibiting information flow between patients and 

20 health care providers represents a radical departure 

21 from how health care has operated in the United 

22 States and fundamentally erodes the right of pa23 tients to informed consent and the ability of health 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 526 IS 

1 care providers to provide appropriate and adequate 

2 health care and information; and 

3 (6) to oppose efforts seeking to limit access to, 

4 and full information on, reproductive health care op5 tions in contradiction with the congressional intent 

6 underlying title X of the Public Health Service Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.). 

Æ 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS