II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2605 

To preserve religious freedom and a woman’s access to contraception. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 15, 2014 

Ms. AYOTTE (for herself, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. BURR, Mr. 

CHAMBLISS, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. HATCH, 

Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. THUNE, Mr. 

WICKER, and Mr. JOHANNS) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To preserve religious freedom and a woman’s access to 

contraception. 

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 ‘‘Preserving Religious 

5 Freedom and a Woman’s Access to Contraception Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Instead of restricting Americans’ religious 

2 freedoms, Congress should preserve a woman’s abil3 ity to make contraceptive decisions for herself. 

4 (2) The freedom of religion is the first freedom 

5 listed in the First Amendment to the Constitution of 

6 the United States, and Congress has a strong inter7 est in protecting the free exercise of religion for 

8 Americans of all faiths. 

9 (3) The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 

10 1993 was signed by President Clinton on November 

11 16, 1993, after passing the House of Representa12 tives unanimously and passing the Senate with the 

13 votes of 97 Senators, including 16 currently serving 

14 Senators and the Vice President. 

15 (4) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

16 provides important protections against discrimina17 tion on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or na18 tional origin. 

19 (5) The Health Insurance Portability and Ac20 countability Act and amendments made by that Act 

21 establish comprehensive protections to ensure that 

22 any medications used by or prescribed for an indi23 vidual are not disclosed to an employer in its capac24 ity as an employer. 


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1 (6) The Food and Drug Administration has 

2 found a number of contraceptives to be proven safe 

3 and effective at preventing pregnancies as well as in 

4 managing certain medical conditions. 

5 (7) There are 5 programs, including the Med6 icaid program, carried out by the Department of 

7 Health and Human Services that provide access to 

8 contraception for low-income women. 

9 (8) Federal and State government spending for 

10 contraceptive services totaled $2,370,000,000 in fis11 cal year 2010 and the Medicaid program financed 

12 75 percent of government spending for family plan13 ning. 

14 (9) More than 19,000,000 women were eligible 

15 for government-supported contraceptive services in 

16 2010. 

17 (10) Even before Obamacare mandated that 

18 employers fully subsidize employees’ contraception, 

19 women had wide access to Food and Drug Adminis20 tration-approved contraception and such contracep21 tion was covered by insurance at over 85 percent of 

22 large businesses. 

23 (11) Now, Obamacare’s various requirements 

24 cause an unprecedented intrusion of government 

25 mandates into Americans’ personal health care deciVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:36 Jul 18, 2014 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2605.IS S2605

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1 sions, including unprecedented Federal mandates 

2 that employers become involved in those decisions, 

3 and the individual mandate, which requires individ4 uals to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty. 

5 (12) Obamacare has created an enormous dis6 ruption in the personal health insurance options of 

7 millions of Americans whose health insurance plans 

8 were cancelled or whose preferred doctors were not 

9 included in their new health insurance plan net10 works. 

11 (13) The Congressional Budget Office estimates 

12 that Obamacare could reduce employment by the 

13 equivalent of 2,000,000 jobs over the next 10 years. 

14 (14) One of Obamacare’s mandates places 

15 2,600,000 Americans, nearly two-thirds of them 

16 women, at risk of having their hours and wages re17 duced, according to the Hoover Institution. 

18 (15) Obamacare’s cuts to the Medicare Advan19 tage program and other regulatory actions could re20 duce the average benefit for women who rely on the 

21 program by $1,538 per year, or 13 percent. 

22 (16) Obamacare’s payroll tax increase creates 

23 an inequitable tax penalty for married working 

24 women. 


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1 (17) Obamacare places limitations on health 

2 savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, and 

3 other consumer-directed health savings vehicles, 

4 which help approximately 17,400,000 Americans to 

5 save for their own health expenses, including contra6 ceptives. 

7 (18) The current Administration has granted 

8 discretionary compliance waivers from Obamacare to 

9 a variety of for-profit businesses, unions, and other 

10 organizations. 

11 (19) To date, the Department of Health and 

12 Human Services has granted more than 1,000 indi13 vidual waiver requests for employers and insurers, 

14 excusing the employers and insurers from compli15 ance with various aspects of the law. 

16 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE SENATE. 

17 It is the sense of the Senate that the Food and Drug 

18 Administration should study whether contraceptives that 

19 are available with a prescription, on the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, would be safe and effective for adults if avail21 able without a prescription. 

22 SEC. 4. EMPLOYEE PROTECTION. 

23 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an em24 ployer who is engaged in interstate commerce may not 

25 prohibit an employee from purchasing, pursuant to State 


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1 prescribing and dispensing laws, a drug or medical device, 

2 including a contraceptive, that is regulated by the Food 

3 and Drug Administration. 

4 SEC. 5. EMPOWERING EMPLOYEES TO MAKE HEALTH 

5 CHOICES. 

6 (a) NO LIMITATIONS BASED ON WHETHER A DRUG

7 IS PRESCRIBED.—Section 9003 of the Patient Protection 

8 and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111–148), and the 

9 amendments made by such section, are repealed, and the 

10 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be applied as if such 

11 section, and amendments, had never been enacted. 

12 (b) NO LIMITATIONS ON HEALTH FSAS.—Sections 

13 9005 and 10902 of the Patient Protection and Affordable 

14 Care Act (Public Law 111–148) and section 1403 of the 

15 Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 

16 (Public Law 111–152), and the amendments made by 

17 such sections, are repealed, and the Internal Revenue 

18 Code of 1986 shall be applied as if such section, and 

19 amendments, had never been enacted. 

Æ 


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