I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4578 

To require that Peace Corps volunteers be subject to the same limitations 

regarding coverage of abortion services as employees of the Peace Corps 

with respect to coverage of such services, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2014 

Mrs. LOWEY (for herself, Mr. FARR, Mr. HONDA, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mr. 

GARAMENDI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To require that Peace Corps volunteers be subject to the 

same limitations regarding coverage of abortion services 

as employees of the Peace Corps with respect to coverage 

of such 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 ‘‘Peace Corps Equity 

5 Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Women of the United States, particularly 

2 women serving the United States overseas, deserve a 

3 basic standard of care when it comes to their health. 

4 (2) Since its founding in 1961, the Peace Corps 

5 has advanced interests of the United States by work6 ing to promote peace and friendship between the 

7 United States and the 139 countries in which the 

8 Peace Corps has operated. 

9 (3) Over the past 50 years, more than 210,000 

10 Peace Corps volunteers have served the United 

11 States by working in developing countries to address 

12 needs in areas such as education, health, youth and 

13 community development, business and information 

14 and communications technology, agriculture, and the 

15 environment. 

16 (4) More than 60 percent of the more than 

17 8,000 current Peace Corps volunteers are women. 

18 (5) Peace Corps volunteers face inherent risks 

19 to their safety and security by virtue of living and 

20 working abroad. 

21 (6) Data from the Peace Corps from 2000 to 

22 2009 indicate that more than 1,000 Peace Corps 

23 volunteers experienced sexual assaults, including 221 

24 rapes or attempted rapes. Data from the Peace 


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1 Corps also show that incidents of sexual assault and 

2 rape against volunteers often go unreported. 

3 (7) Recognizing the high incidence of sexual as4 sault in the Peace Corps, Congress enacted the Kate 

5 Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 

6 2011 (Public Law 112–57) to strengthen protections 

7 and support for sexual assault survivors. 

8 (8) Since fiscal year 1979, annual appropria9 tions Acts have prohibited the Peace Corps from 

10 covering abortion services for its volunteers (includ11 ing trainees), even in cases of rape, incest, and life 

12 endangerment of the woman. Employees of the 

13 Peace Corps, on the other hand, are provided this 

14 coverage. 

15 (9) Abortion services in cases of rape, incest, 

16 and life endangerment of the woman are now avail17 able to almost all groups of women of the United 

18 States covered by Federal law, except Peace Corps 

19 volunteers. 

20 (10) Abortion coverage in cases of rape, incest, 

21 and life endangerment of the woman is available to 

22 most women, excluding Peace Corps volunteers, cov23 ered under Federal health plans, including employ24 ees covered by the Federal Employee Health Bene25 fits Program, servicewomen covered by TRICARE, 


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1 Native Americans covered by the Indian Health 

2 Service, women inmates and immigration detainees, 

3 and Medicaid and Medicare recipients. 

4 (11) There is no rational basis for denying 

5 Peace Corps volunteers a basic health care benefit 

6 that is extended to other women covered under Fed7 eral health care plans. 

8 SEC. 3. EQUITABLE TREATMENT OF PEACE CORPS VOLUN9 TEERS AND EMPLOYEES WITH RESPECT TO 

10 COVERAGE OF ABORTION SERVICES. 

11 Section 5(e) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 

12 2504(e)) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘(e) Volunteers’’ and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(e) HEALTH CARE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Volunteers’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(2) EQUITABLE TREATMENT OF VOLUNTEERS

19 AND EMPLOYEES WITH RESPECT TO COVERAGE OF

20 ABORTION SERVICES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Coverage of abortion 

22 services by the Peace Corps for volunteers shall 

23 be subject to the same limitations as the limita24 tions that apply to employees of the Peace 


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1 Corps with respect to coverage by the Peace 

2 Corps of such services. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph (A) 

4 shall apply notwithstanding any provision of 

5 law, including a provision of law enacted after 

6 the date of the enactment of the Peace Corps 

7 Equity Act of 2014, unless such law explicitly 

8 excludes application of such subparagraph by 

9 reference to such subparagraph. 

10 ‘‘(C) CONSTRUCTION.—This paragraph 

11 may not be construed to limit coverage of med12 ical evacuations.’’. 

Æ 


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