II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 979

To protect women’s reproductive health and constitutional right to choice,

and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 28 (legislative date, JUNE 19), 1995

Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs.

FEINSTEIN, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. GLENN,

Mr. PACKWOOD, Mr. DODD, and Mr. SPECTER) introduced the following

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

Human Resources

A BILL

To protect women’s reproductive health and constitutional

right to choice, 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 ‘‘Women’s Choice and

5 Reproductive Health Protection Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
2

•S 979 IS

1 (1) reproductive rights are central to the ability

2 of women to exercise full enjoyment of rights se3 cured to women by Federal and State law;

4 (2) abortion has been a legal and constitu5 tionally protected medical procedure throughout the

6 United States since 1973 and has become part of

7 mainstream medical practice as is evidenced by the

8 positions of medical institutions including the Amer9 ican Medical Association, the American College of

10 Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American

11 Medical Women’s Association;

12 (3) the availability of abortion services is dimin13 ishing throughout the United States, as evidenced

14 by—

15 (A) the fact that 84 percent of counties in

16 the United States have no abortion provider;

17 and

18 (B) the fact that between 1982 and 1992

19 the number of abortion providers decreased in

20 45 States; and

21 (4) at a minimum, Congress must retain the

22 following policies, which currently preserve the

23 choice and reproductive health of women:

24 (A) Funding through the medicaid pro25 gram under title XIX of the Social Security Act
3

•S 979 IS

1 (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) for abortion services

2 for victims of rape or incest.

3 (B) Protection from clinic violence.

4 (C) Full implementation of contraceptive

5 and infertility research programs.

6 (D) Authorization of family planning pro7 grams.

8 (E) the prohibition of any gag rule on in9 formation pertaining to reproductive medical

10 services.

11 (F) The evaluation of the drug called

12 Mifepristone or RU–486.

13 (G) The establishment of breast cancer,

14 cervical cancer, and chlamydia screening pro15 grams in all 50 States.

16 (H) The fundamental right to choose, as

17 stated in the Supreme Court decision in Roe v.

18 Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).

19 (I) Fairness in insurance.

20 (J) The ability of military personnel over21 seas to purchase abortion services at military

22 facilities with private funds.
4

•S 979 IS

1 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN

2 REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ISSUES.

3 (a) RAPE AND INCEST VICTIM PROTECTION.—It is

4 the sense of Congress that current provisions of law (in

5 effect as of October 1, 1993) requiring Federal and State

6 governments to provide funding for abortion services in

7 cases of life endangerment, and for victims of rape or in8 cest, to women eligible for assistance through the medicaid

9 program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42

10 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) are essential to the health and well11 being of the women and must not be repealed.

12 (b) CLINIC VIOLENCE.—It is the sense of Congress

13 that—

14 (1) Federal resources are necessary to ensure

15 that women have safe access to reproductive health

16 facilities and that health professionals can deliver

17 services in a secure environment free from violence

18 and threats of force; and

19 (2) it is necessary and appropriate to use Fed20 eral resources to combat the nationwide campaign of

21 violence and harassment against reproductive health

22 centers.

23 (c) PREVENTIVE HEALTH MEASURES REGARDING

24 BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that the program of grants under title XV of the

26 Public Health Service Act should receive a level of funding
5

•S 979 IS

1 that is adequate for all States to receive grants under such

2 title.

3 (d) PROGRAMS REGARDING CONTRACEPTION AND

4 INFERTILITY.—

5 (1) RESEARCH CENTERS.—It is the sense of

6 Congress that the program of research centers under

7 section 452A of the Public Health Service Act

8 should receive a level of funding that is adequate for

9 a reasonable number of research centers to be oper10 ated under the program.

11 (2) LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM REGARDING

12 CONDUCT OF RESEARCH.—It is the sense of Con13 gress that the program of loan-repayment contracts

14 under section 487B of the Public Health Service Act

15 should receive a level of funding that is adequate for

16 a reasonable number of individuals to conduct re17 search under the program.

18 SEC. 4. FAMILY PLANNING AMENDMENTS.

19 Section 1001(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42

20 U.S.C. 300(d)) is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(d) For the purpose of grants and contracts under

22 this section, there are authorized to be appropriated

23 $220,000,000 for fiscal year 1996, $250,000,000 for fis24 cal year 1997, and such sums as may be necessary for

25 each of fiscal years 1998 through 2000.’’.
6

•S 979 IS

1 SEC. 5. FREEDOM OF FULL DISCLOSURE.

2 Title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.

3 2000h et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the follow4 ing:

5 ‘‘SEC. 1107. INFORMATION ABOUT AVAILABILITY OF REPRO6 DUCTIVE HEALTH CARE SERVICES.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro8 vision of law, no governmental authority shall, in or

9 through any program or activity that is administered or

10 assisted by such authority and that provides health care

11 services or information, limit the right of any person to

12 provide, or the right of any person to receive,

13 nonfraudulent information about the availability of repro14 ductive health care services, including family planning,

15 prenatal care, adoption, and abortion services.

16 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—As used in this section the term

17 ‘governmental authority’ means any authority of the Unit18 ed States.’’.

19 SEC. 6. FAIRNESS IN EVALUATION OF RU–486.

20 The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall—

21 (1) assure that the Food and Drug Administra22 tion evaluates the drug called Mifepristone or RU–

23 486 only on the basis provided by law; and

24 (2) assess initiatives by which the Department

25 of Health and Human Services can promote the
7

•S 979 IS

1 testing, licensing, and manufacturing in the United

2 States of the drug or other antiprogestins.

3 SEC. 7. FREEDOM OF CHOICE.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

5 (1) The 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v.

6 Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) established constitu7 tionally based limits on the power of States to re8 strict the right of a woman to choose to terminate

9 a pregnancy. Under the strict scrutiny standard

10 enunciated in the Roe v. Wade decision, States were

11 required to demonstrate that laws restricting the

12 right of a woman to choose to terminate a pregnancy

13 were the least restrictive means available to achieve

14 a compelling State interest. Since 1989, the Su15 preme Court has no longer applied the strict scru16 tiny standard in reviewing challenges to the constitu17 tionality of State laws restricting such rights.

18 (2) As a result of the recent modification by the

19 Supreme Court of the strict scrutiny standard enun20 ciated in the Roe v. Wade decision, certain States

21 have restricted the right of women to choose to ter22 minate a pregnancy or to utilize some forms of con23 traception, and the restrictions operate cumulatively

24 to—
8

•S 979 IS

1 (A)(i) increase the number of illegal or

2 medically less safe abortions, often resulting in

3 physical impairment, loss of reproductive capac4 ity, or death to the women involved;

5 (ii) burden interstate and international

6 commerce by forcing women to travel from

7 States in which legal barriers render contracep8 tion or abortion unavailable or unsafe to other

9 States or foreign nations;

10 (iii) interfere with freedom of travel be11 tween and among the various States;

12 (iv) burden the medical and economic re13 sources of States that continue to provide

14 women with access to safe and legal abortion;

15 and

16 (v) interfere with the ability of medical

17 professionals to provide health services;

18 (B) obstruct access to and use of contra19 ceptive and other medical techniques that are

20 part of interstate and international commerce;

21 (C) discriminate between women who are

22 able to afford interstate and international travel

23 and women who are not, a disproportionate

24 number of whom belong to racial or ethnic mi25 norities; and
9

•S 979 IS

1 (D) infringe on the ability of women to ex2 ercise full enjoyment of rights secured to the

3 women by Federal and State law, both statu4 tory and constitutional.

5 (3) Although Congress may not by legislation

6 create constitutional rights, Congress may, where

7 authorized by the enumerated powers of Congress

8 and not prohibited by a constitutional provision,

9 enact legislation to create and secure statutory

10 rights in areas of legitimate national concern.

11 (4) Congress has the affirmative power under

12 section 8 of article I of the Constitution and under

13 section 5 of the 14th amendment to the Constitution

14 to enact legislation to prohibit State interference

15 with interstate commerce, liberty, or equal protection

16 of the laws.

17 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es18 tablish, as a statutory matter, limitations on the power

19 of a State to restrict the freedom of a woman to terminate

20 a pregnancy in order to achieve the same limitations as

21 were provided, as a constitutional matter, under the strict

22 scrutiny standard of review enunciated in the Roe v. Wade

23 decision and applied in subsequent cases from 1973

24 through 1988.

25 (c) IN GENERAL.—A State—
10

•S 979 IS

1 (1) may not restrict the freedom of a woman to

2 choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy be3 fore fetal viability;

4 (2) may restrict the freedom of a woman to

5 choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy

6 after fetal viability unless such a termination is nec7 essary to preserve the life or health of the woman;

8 and

9 (3) may impose requirements on the perform10 ance of abortion procedures if such requirements are

11 medically necessary to protect the health of women

12 undergoing such procedures.

13 (d) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec14 tion shall be construed to—

15 (1) prevent a State from protecting unwilling

16 individuals or private health care institutions from

17 being required to participate in the performance of

18 abortions to which the individuals or institutions are

19 conscientiously opposed;

20 (2) prevent a State from declining to pay for

21 the performance of abortions; or

22 (3) prevent a State from requiring a minor to

23 involve a parent, guardian, or other responsible

24 adult before terminating a pregnancy.
11

•S 979 IS

1 (e) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term

2 ‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia, the Common3 wealth of Puerto Rico, and each other territory or posses4 sion of the United States.

5 SEC. 8. FAIRNESS IN INSURANCE.

6 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Fed7 eral law shall be construed to prohibit a provider of health

8 insurance from offering coverage for the full range of re9 productive health care services, including abortion serv10 ices.

11 SEC. 9. ABORTIONS IN FACILITIES OF THE UNIFORMED

12 SERVICES NOT PROHIBITED IF NOT FEDER13 ALLY FUNDED.

14 Section 1093 of title 10, United States Code, is

15 amended—

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) LIMITATION.—’’ before

17 ‘‘Funds’’; and

18 (2) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(b) ABORTIONS IN FACILITIES OVERSEAS.—Sub20 section (a) does not limit the performing of an abortion

21 in a facility of the uniformed services located outside the

22 48 contiguous States of the United States if—

23 ‘‘(1) the cost of performing the abortion is fully

24 paid from a source or sources other than funds

25 available to the Department of Defense;
12

•S 979 IS

1 ‘‘(2) abortions are not prohibited by the laws of

2 the jurisdiction where the facility is located; and

3 ‘‘(3) the abortion would otherwise be permitted

4 under the laws applicable to the provision of health

5 care to members and former members of the uni6 formed services and their dependents in such

7 facility.’’.

Æ