I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2709 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to ensure that members of the 

Armed Forces and their families have access to the contraception they 

need in order to promote the health and readiness of all members 

of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 20, 2021 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. 

AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. BERA, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 

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

Ms. BUSH, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARSON, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. 

CHU, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COOPER, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEAN, Mr. 

DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DEUTCH, 

Mr. FOSTER, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HIMES, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. 

HUFFMAN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JACOBS of California, Ms. JAYAPAL, 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. JONES, Mr. KEATING, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. 

KILMER, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, 

Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. 

LEVIN of California, Mr. LIEU, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. 

SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of 

New York, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MENG, 

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

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

Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PETERS, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. 

PORTER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. QUIGLEY, 

Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. ROSS, Mr. RYAN, Mr. SABLAN, 

Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. 

TAKANO, Ms. TITUS, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Mr. WELCH, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. 

KAHELE, Mr. O’HALLERAN, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 


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A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to ensure that members of the Armed Forces and their families have access 

to the contraception they need in order to promote the 

health and readiness of all members of the Armed 

Forces, 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 ‘‘Access to Contracep5 tion for Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Women are serving in the Armed Forces at 

9 increasing rates, playing a critical role in the na10 tional security of the United States. Women com11 prise more than 18 percent of members of the 

12 Armed Forces, and as of fiscal year 2019, over 

13 390,000 women serve on active duty in the Armed 

14 Forces or in the reserve components. An estimated 

15 several thousand transgender men also serve on ac16 tive duty in the Armed Forces and in the reserve 

17 components, in addition to non-binary members and 

18 those who identify with a different gender. 

19 (2) Ninety-five percent of women serving in the 

20 Armed Forces are of reproductive age and as of 


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1 2019, more than 700,000 female spouses and de2 pendents of members of the Armed Forces on active 

3 duty are of reproductive age. 

4 (3) The TRICARE program covered more than 

5 1,570,000 women of reproductive age in 2019, in6 cluding spouses and dependents of members of the 

7 Armed Forces on active duty. Additionally, thou8 sands of transgender dependents of members of the 

9 Armed Forces are covered by TRICARE. 

10 (4) The right to access contraception is ground11 ed in the principle that contraception and the ability 

12 to determine if and when to have children are inex13 tricably tied to one’s wellbeing, equality, and ability 

14 to determine the course of one’s life. These protec15 tions have helped access to contraception become a 

16 driving force in improving the health and financial 

17 security of individuals and their families. 

18 (5) Access to contraception is critical to the 

19 health of every individual capable of becoming preg20 nant. This Act is intended to apply to all individuals 

21 with the capacity for pregnancy, including cisgender 

22 women, transgender men, non-binary individuals, 

23 those who identify with a different gender, and oth24 ers. 


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1 (6) Studies have shown that when cost barriers 

2 to the full range of methods of contraception are 

3 eliminated, patients are more likely to use the con4 traceptive method that meets their needs, and there5 fore use contraception correctly and more consist6 ently, reducing the risk of unintended pregnancy. 

7 (7) Under the TRICARE program, members of 

8 the Armed Forces on active duty have full coverage 

9 of all prescription drugs, including contraception, 

10 without cost-sharing requirements, in line with the 

11 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public 

12 Law 111–148), which requires coverage of all con13 traceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug 

14 Administration for women and related services and 

15 education and counseling. However, members not on 

16 active duty and dependents of members do not have 

17 similar coverage of all methods of contraception ap18 proved by the Food and Drug Administration with19 out cost-sharing when they obtain the contraceptive 

20 outside of a military medical treatment facility. 

21 (8) In order to fill gaps in coverage and access 

22 to preventive care critical for women’s health, the 

23 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public 

24 Law 111–148) requires all non-grandfathered indi25 vidual and group health plans to cover without costVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2709.IH H2709

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1 sharing preventive services, including a set of evi2 dence-based preventive services for women supported 

3 by the Health Resources and Services Administra4 tion of the Department of Health and Human Serv5 ices. These women’s preventive services include the 

6 full range of female-controlled contraceptive meth7 ods, effective family planning practices, and steriliza8 tion procedures, approved by the Food and Drug 

9 Administration. The Health Resources and Services 

10 Administration has affirmed that contraceptive care 

11 includes contraceptive counseling, initiation of con12 traceptive use, and follow-up care (such as manage13 ment, evaluation, and changes to and removal or dis14 continuation of the contraceptive method). 

15 (9) The Defense Advisory Committee on 

16 Women in the Services has recommended that all 

17 the Armed Forces, to the extent that they have not 

18 already, implement initiatives that inform members 

19 of the Armed Forces of the importance of family 

20 planning, educate them on methods of contraception, 

21 and make various methods of contraception avail22 able, based on the finding that family planning can 

23 increase the overall readiness and quality of life of 

24 all members of the Armed Forces. 


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1 (10) The military departments received more 

2 than 7,800 reports of sexual assaults involving mem3 bers of the Armed Forces as victims or subjects dur4 ing fiscal year 2019. Through regulations, the De5 partment of Defense already supports a policy of en6 suring that members of the Armed Forces who are 

7 sexually assaulted have access to emergency contra8 ception, and the initiation of contraception if desired 

9 and medically appropriate. 

10 SEC. 3. CONTRACEPTION COVERAGE PARITY UNDER THE 

11 TRICARE PROGRAM. 

12 (a) PHARMACY BENEFITS PROGRAM.—Section 

13 1074g(a)(6) of title 10, United States Code, is amended 

14 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

15 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A), (B), 

16 and (C), cost-sharing may not be imposed or col17 lected with respect to any eligible covered beneficiary 

18 for any prescription contraceptive on the uniform 

19 formulary provided through a retail pharmacy de20 scribed in paragraph (2)(E)(ii) or through the na21 tional mail-order pharmacy program.’’. 

22 (b) TRICARE SELECT.—Section 1075 of such title 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

25 following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(4)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision 

2 under this section, cost-sharing may not be imposed 

3 or collected with respect to any beneficiary under 

4 this section for a service described in subparagraph 

5 (B) that is provided by a network provider. 

6 ‘‘(B) A service described in this subparagraph 

7 is any method of contraception approved by the 

8 Food and Drug Administration, any contraceptive 

9 care (including with respect to insertion, removal, 

10 and follow up), any sterilization procedure, or any 

11 patient education or counseling service provided in 

12 connection with any such method, care, or proce13 dure.’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘calculated as’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘calculated (except as provided in sub16 section (c)(4)) as’’. 

17 (c) TRICARE PRIME.—Section 1075a of such title 

18 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub19 section: 

20 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON COST-SHARING FOR CERTAIN

21 SERVICES.—(1) Notwithstanding subsections (a), (b), and 

22 (c), cost-sharing may not be imposed or collected with re23 spect to any beneficiary under this section for a service 

24 described in paragraph (2) that is provided under 

25 TRICARE Prime. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A service described in this paragraph is any 

2 method of contraception approved by the Food and Drug 

3 Administration, any contraceptive care (including with re4 spect to insertion, removal, and follow up), any steriliza5 tion procedure, or any patient education or counseling 

6 service provided in connection with any such method, care, 

7 or procedure.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. PREGNANCY PREVENTION ASSISTANCE AT MILI9 TARY MEDICAL TREATMENT FACILITIES FOR 

10 SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 55 of title 10, United 

12 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1074o 

13 the following new section: 

14 ‘‘§ 1074p. Provision of pregnancy prevention assist15 ance at military medical treatment facili16 ties 

17 ‘‘(a) INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE.—The Sec18 retary of Defense shall promptly furnish to sexual assault 

19 survivors at each military medical treatment facility the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(1) Comprehensive, medically and factually ac22 curate, and unbiased written and oral information 

23 about all methods of emergency contraception ap24 proved by the Food and Drug Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Notification of the right of the sexual as2 sault survivor to confidentiality with respect to the 

3 information and care and services furnished under 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(3) Upon request by the sexual assault sur6 vivor, emergency contraception or, if applicable, a 

7 prescription for emergency contraception. 

8 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

9 information provided pursuant to subsection (a) is pro10 vided in language that— 

11 ‘‘(1) is clear and concise; 

12 ‘‘(2) is readily comprehensible; and 

13 ‘‘(3) meets such conditions (including condi14 tions regarding the provision of information in lan15 guages other than English) as the Secretary may 

16 prescribe in regulations to carry out this section. 

17 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) The term ‘sexual assault survivor’ means 

19 any individual who presents at a military medical 

20 treatment facility and— 

21 ‘‘(A) states to personnel of the facility that 

22 the individual experienced a sexual assault; 

23 ‘‘(B) is accompanied by another person 

24 who states that the individual experienced a 

25 sexual assault; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) whom the personnel of the facility 

2 reasonably believes to be a survivor of sexual 

3 assault. 

4 ‘‘(2) The term ‘sexual assault’ means the con5 duct described in section 1565b(c) of this title that 

6 may result in pregnancy.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

8 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

9 after the item relating to section 1074o the following new 

10 item: 

‘‘1074p. Provision of pregnancy prevention assistance at military medical treatment facilities.’’. 

11 SEC. 5. EDUCATION ON FAMILY PLANNING FOR MEMBERS 

12 OF THE ARMED FORCES. 

13 (a) EDUCATION PROGRAMS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec16 retary of Defense shall establish a uniform standard 

17 curriculum to be used in education programs on 

18 family planning for all members of the Armed 

19 Forces, including both men and women members. 

20 Such education programs shall be provided to mem21 bers as follows: 

22 (A) During the first year of service of the 

23 member. 


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1 (B) At such other times as each Secretary 

2 of a military department determines appro3 priate with respect to members of the Armed 

4 Forces under the jurisdiction of the respective 

5 military department. 

6 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

7 Congress that the education programs under para8 graph (1) should be evidence-informed and use the 

9 latest technology available to efficiently and effec10 tively deliver information to members of the Armed 

11 Forces. 

12 (b) ELEMENTS.—The uniform standard curriculum 

13 under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

14 (1) Information for members of the Armed 

15 Forces on active duty to make informed decisions re16 garding family planning. 

17 (2) Information about the prevention of unin18 tended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infec19 tions, including human immunodeficiency virus 

20 (commonly known as ‘‘HIV’’). 

21 (3) Information on— 

22 (A) the importance of providing com23 prehensive family planning for members of the 

24 Armed Forces, including commanding officers; 

25 and 


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1 (B) the positive impact family planning 

2 can have on the health and readiness of the 

3 Armed Forces. 

4 (4) Current, medically accurate information. 

5 (5) Clear, user-friendly information on— 

6 (A) the full range of methods of contracep7 tion approved by the Food and Drug Adminis8 tration; and 

9 (B) where members of the Armed Forces 

10 can access their chosen method of contracep11 tion. 

12 (6) Information on all applicable laws and poli13 cies so that members of the Armed Forces are in14 formed of their rights and obligations. 

15 (7) Information on patients’ rights to confiden16 tiality. 

17 (8) Information on the unique circumstances 

18 encountered by members of the Armed Forces and 

19 the effects of such circumstances on the use of con20 traception. 

Æ 


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