I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1581 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include in the Annual 

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices a section on reproductive 

rights, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2019 

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts (for herself, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. BASS, Mr. 

BERA, Mr. BEYER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. 

BONAMICI, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, 

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

Florida, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. 

CICILLINE, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COOPER, Mr. COX of California, Mrs. 

CRAIG, Mr. CROW, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. DEAN, 

Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. 

FLETCHER, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. FRANKEL, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARCI ́A of 

Illinois, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HECK, Ms. HILL of California, Mr. HIMES, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KILMER, 

Mr. KIND, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. KUSTER of 

New Hampshire, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE of 

California, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. 

LUJA ́N, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. 

SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE, Mr. 

MORELLE, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. 

NEGUSE, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PAPPAS, 

Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PETERS, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. 

QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN, Ms. 

SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. SHALALA, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. 

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

Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. 

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


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1581 IH

WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, and Ms. WILD) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include 

in the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices a section on reproductive rights, 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 ‘‘Reproductive Rights 

5 are Human Rights Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The United States has joined the inter9 national community in identifying reproductive 

10 rights as human rights, including in connection with 

11 the 1994 International Conference on Population 

12 and Development, the 1995 Beijing World Con13 ference on Women, and through its ratification of 

14 the International Covenant on Civil and Political 

15 Rights (ICCPR). 

16 (2) General comment No. 36 (2018) on article 

17 6 of the ICCPR, which was adopted by the Human 

18 Rights Committee at its October to November 2018 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1581 IH

1 session, states that under Article 6 of the ICCPR, 

2 State parties have a duty to ensure that all persons 

3 have the right to receive— 

4 (A) evidence-based information and edu5 cation about sexual and reproductive health, 

6 and access to a range of affordable contracep7 tive methods; 

8 (B) safe, legal, and effective access to 

9 abortion where the life and health of the preg10 nant woman or girl is at risk, or where carrying 

11 a pregnancy to term would cause the pregnant 

12 woman or girl substantial pain or suffering, no13 tably where pregnancy is the result of rape or 

14 incest or is not viable; and, access to quality 

15 prenatal and post-abortion health care; and 

16 (C) access by women and girls to safe 

17 abortion without the imposition of restrictions, 

18 which subject them to physical or mental pain 

19 or suffering, or which discriminate or arbi20 trarily interfere with their privacy, or place 

21 them at risk of undertaking unsafe abortions. 

22 (3) The Department of State’s deletion of the 

23 reproductive rights subsection from its 2017 Coun24 try Reports on Human Rights Practices dem25 onstrates an alarming level of politicization of 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1581 IH

1 human rights by the Trump Administration and un2 dermines the human rights of women around the 

3 world. 

4 (4) When women’s reproductive rights are lim5 ited, so are their pathways to economic, social, and 

6 political empowerment. 

7 (5) Sexual health and reproductive rights are 

8 essential for sustainable economic development, are 

9 intrinsically linked to gender equality and women’s 

10 well-being, and are critical to maternal, newborn, 

11 child, adolescent, family, and community health. 

12 SEC. 3. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 

13 PRACTICES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Foreign Assistance Act of 

15 1961 is amended— 

16 (1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d))— 

17 (A) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (B) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking 

20 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

21 and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

23 paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(13) the status of reproductive rights in each 

25 country, including— 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 1581 IH

1 ‘‘(A) whether such country has adopted 

2 and enforced policies to— 

3 ‘‘(i) promote access to and prevalence 

4 of, safe, effective, and affordable methods 

5 of contraception and comprehensive and 

6 accurate family planning information; 

7 ‘‘(ii) promote access to appropriate 

8 health care services to prevent maternal 

9 deaths and ensure safe and healthy preg10 nancy and childbirth; 

11 ‘‘(iii) expand or restrict access to safe 

12 abortion services, including post-abortion 

13 care, in accordance with the country’s 

14 laws; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) promote the prevention, detec16 tion, and treatment of sexually transmitted 

17 infections, including HIV, and of reproduc18 tive tract infections and of reproductive 

19 cancers; 

20 ‘‘(B) a description of the rates and causes 

21 of maternal deaths in such country, including 

22 deaths due to unsafe abortions, where applica23 ble; 

24 ‘‘(C) a description of the nature and extent 

25 of instances of discrimination, coercion, and vioVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1581.IH H1581

pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 1581 IH

1 lence against women and girls in health care 

2 settings in such country, and the actions, if 

3 any, taken by the government of such country 

4 to respond to such discrimination, coercion, and 

5 violence, where applicable; and 

6 ‘‘(D) wherever applicable, a description of 

7 the proportion of women of reproductive age 

8 (aged 15–49 years) who have their need for 

9 family planning satisfied with modern methods 

10 of family planning, the barriers to access, and 

11 the nature and extent of instances of denial of 

12 comprehensive and accurate family planning in13 formation and services in such country, and the 

14 actions, if any, taken by the government of such 

15 country to respond to such denials.’’; and 

16 (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)— 

17 (A) by redesignating the second subsection 

18 (i) (relating to child marriage status) as sub19 section (j); and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

21 subsection: 

22 ‘‘(k) The report required under subsection (b) shall 

23 include the status of reproductive rights in each country, 

24 including— 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 1581 IH

1 ‘‘(1) whether such country has adopted and en2 forced policies to— 

3 ‘‘(A) promote access to and prevalence of 

4 safe, effective, and affordable methods of con5 traception and comprehensive and accurate 

6 family planning information; 

7 ‘‘(B) promote access to appropriate health 

8 care services to prevent maternal deaths and 

9 ensure safe and healthy pregnancy and child10 birth; 

11 ‘‘(C) expand or restrict access to safe abor12 tion services, including post-abortion care, in 

13 accordance with the country’s laws; and 

14 ‘‘(D) promote the prevention, detection, 

15 and treatment of sexually transmitted infec16 tions, including HIV, and of reproductive tract 

17 infections and of reproductive cancers; 

18 ‘‘(2) a description of the rates and causes of 

19 maternal deaths in such country, including deaths 

20 due to unsafe abortions, where applicable; 

21 ‘‘(3) a description of the nature and extent of 

22 discrimination, coercion, and violence against women 

23 and girls in health care settings in such country, and 

24 the actions, if any, taken by the government of such 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 1581 IH

1 country to respond to such discrimination, coercion, 

2 and violence, where applicable; and 

3 ‘‘(4) wherever applicable, a description of the 

4 proportion of women of reproductive age (aged 15– 

5 49 years) who have their need for family planning 

6 satisfied with modern methods of family planning, 

7 the barriers to access, and the nature and extent of 

8 instances of denial of comprehensive and accurate 

9 family planning information and services in such 

10 country, and the actions, if any, taken by the gov11 ernment of such country to respond to such deni12 als.’’. 

13 (b) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In preparing the 

14 Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices re15 quired under sections 116(d) and 502B of the Foreign As16 sistance Act of 1961 (as amended by subsection (a)), the 

17 Secretary of State, the Assistant Secretary of State for 

18 Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and other relevant 

19 officials, including human rights officers at United States 

20 diplomatic and consular posts, shall consult with— 

21 (1) representatives of United States civil society 

22 and multilateral organizations with demonstrated ex23 perience and expertise in sexual and reproductive 

24 health and rights or promoting women and girls’ 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 1581 IH

1 human rights, including local civil society organiza2 tions whenever possible; and 

3 (2) relevant, local, non-governmental organiza4 tions in all countries included in such Reports, in5 cluding women and girls’ organizations focused on 

6 sexual and reproductive health and rights. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS