I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1670 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the use of 

funds for comprehensive reproductive health care services, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2021 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, 

Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. BASS, Mr. BERA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 

Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. BROWN, Ms. 

BROWNLEY, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARSON, 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CASE, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. 

CASTRO of Texas, Ms. CHU, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CRIST, 

Mr. CROW, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, 

Ms. DELAURO, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. 

ESCOBAR, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. FOSTER, 

Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. 

GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. HIMES, Mr. 

HORSFORD, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JACOBS of California, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, 

Mr. JONES, Mr. KAHELE, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KEATING, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. 

KILDEE, Mr. KILMER, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. 

KUSTER, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LAWSON of 

Florida, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LEVIN of 

California, Mr. LIEU, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of 

New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. MANNING, 

Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. 

MENG, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. 

NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. NORTON, 

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. 

PAYNE, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PORTER, Mr. 

PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of New 

York, Ms. ROSS, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. 

SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SOTO, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TITUS, 

Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Mr. 

VARGAS, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. 


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WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, Ms. WEXTON, Ms. WILD, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mrs. TORRES of California, 

Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. DEGETTE, and 

Ms. STRICKLAND) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize 

the use of funds for comprehensive reproductive health 

care 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 ‘‘Abortion is Health 

5 Care Everywhere Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Abortion is a critical component of sexual 

9 and reproductive health care and should be acces10 sible and affordable for all people. 

11 (2) All people have the right to make their own 

12 choices about their sexual and reproductive health, 

13 and to access quality and affordable sexual and re14 productive health care. International agreements 

15 have recognized reproductive rights for over 25 

16 years, and the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals 


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1 reiterated the centrality of reproductive rights to 

2 gender equality. 

3 (3) Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that 

4 when people, including young women and adolescent 

5 girls, gender non-conforming individuals, and 

6 transgender men, are able to control their reproduc7 tive lives, there are enormous social and economic 

8 benefits—not just for the individual and their fam9 ily, but for entire communities. Countries that 

10 prioritize reproductive health, rights, and justice and 

11 human rights are more likely to have better overall 

12 health throughout. 

13 (4) Health system cost is reduced when abor14 tion is widely available and integrated with other 

15 types of health care. 

16 (5) Without access to safe abortion care, people 

17 risk their lives to end their pregnancies. At least 

18 24,100 people in low- and middle-income countries 

19 die every year from complications from unsafe abor20 tion. 

21 (6) Ninety-seven percent of unsafe abortions 

22 occur in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and 

23 Latin America. In low- and middle-income countries, 

24 the annual cost of post-abortion care for all who 

25 need it would be $4 billion. The majority of this cost 


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1 is attributed to treating complications from abor2 tions provided in unsafe conditions. 

3 (7) Restricting abortion does not reduce either 

4 the need for or number of abortions. Abortion rates 

5 are similar in countries where it is highly restricted 

6 by law and where it is broadly legal. 

7 (8) When abortions are performed in accord8 ance with World Health Organization (WHO) guide9 lines and standards, there is minimal risk of severe 

10 complications or death. 

11 (9) As part of their commitment to prevent un12 safe abortions and preventable deaths and ensure all 

13 people have access to comprehensive sexual and re14 productive health care and can exercise their right to 

15 full control over their sexuality and reproduction, de16 veloping countries and donor governments must 

17 work collaboratively to deploy funding, align policies, 

18 and mobilize expertise to make safe abortion services 

19 available to those seeking to terminate pregnancies. 

20 (10) United States law restricting United 

21 States foreign assistance funding from being used to 

22 provide safe abortion services has the effect of harm23 ing people who seek to terminate their pregnancies 

24 in several ways, including by blocking access to serv25 ices and erecting barriers to providers obtaining the 


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1 training and equipment needed to deliver care to 

2 those in need. 

3 (11) Since section 104(f)(1) of the Foreign As4 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151b(f)(1)) (com5 monly referred to as the ‘‘Helms amendment’’) was 

6 enacted in 1973, dozens of governments across the 

7 globe have liberalized abortion laws and policies. 

8 (12) In countries where the United States sup9 ports family planning and reproductive health care 

10 and in which abortion is legal on at least some 

11 grounds, support for safe abortion could avert over 

12 19 million unsafe abortions and 17,000 maternal 

13 deaths each year. 

14 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

15 The following shall be the policy of the United States 

16 Government: 

17 (1) Safe abortion is a critical component of 

18 comprehensive maternal and reproductive health 

19 care and should be included as part of foreign assist20 ance programs funded by the United States Govern21 ment. 

22 (2) Safe abortion is to be made widely available 

23 and integrated with other types of health care. 

24 (3) The United States Government should work 

25 to end unsafe abortion and promote safe abortion 


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1 services by providing funding and collaborating with 

2 affected governments and service providers to pro3 vide training, commodities and equipment, and ac4 cess to safe abortion services. 

5 SEC. 4. USE OF FUNDS FOR COMPREHENSIVE REPRODUC6 TIVE HEALTH CARE SERVICES. 

7 Section 104 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

8 (22 U.S.C. 2151b) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (f)— 

10 (A) by striking paragraph (1); and 

11 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

12 (3) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; 

13 (2) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub14 section (h); and 

15 (3) by inserting after subsection (f), as amend16 ed, the following: 

17 ‘‘(g) USE OF FUNDS FOR COMPREHENSIVE REPRO18 DUCTIVE HEALTH CARE SERVICES.—Notwithstanding 

19 any other provision of law, funds made available to carry 

20 out this part may be used to provide comprehensive repro21 ductive health care services, including abortion services, 

22 training, and equipment.’’. 

Æ 


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