Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act of 2023

Subjects: International Affairs


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 929 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 929

  To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the use of 
Federal foreign assistance funds for comprehensive reproductive health 
                 care services, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 22, 2023

  Mr. Booker (for himself, Ms. Smith, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. 
 Blumenthal, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, Mr. 
 Padilla, Mr. Welch, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Warren, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Murphy, 
 Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. 
   Feinstein, Mr. Brown, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Cortez Masto, and Mr. Lujan) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the use of 
Federal foreign assistance funds for comprehensive reproductive health 
                 care services, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Abortion is Health Care Everywhere 
Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Abortion is a critical component of sexual and 
        reproductive health care and should be accessible and 
        affordable for all people.
            (2) All people have the right to make their own choices 
        about their sexual and reproductive health, and to access 
        quality and affordable sexual and reproductive health care. 
        International agreements have recognized reproductive rights 
        for over 25 years, and the Sustainable Development Goals, which 
        were adopted by United Nations in September 2015, reiterated 
        the centrality of reproductive rights to gender equality.
            (3) Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that when people, 
        including young women and adolescent girls, gender 
        nonconforming individuals, and transgender men, are able to 
        control their reproductive lives, there are enormous social and 
        economic benefits, not just for the individual and their 
        family, but for entire communities. Countries that prioritize 
        reproductive health rights, justice, and human rights are more 
        likely to have better overall health among their population.
            (4) Health system cost is reduced when abortion is widely 
        available and integrated with other types of health care.
            (5) Without access to safe abortion care, people risk their 
        lives to end their pregnancies. At least 24,100 people in low- 
        and middle-income countries die every year as a result of 
        complications from unsafe abortions.
            (6) Ninety-seven percent of unsafe abortions occur in 
        developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In 
        low- and middle-income countries, the annual cost of post-
        abortion care for all who need it would be $4,000,000,000. The 
        majority of this cost is attributed to treating complications 
        from abortions provided in unsafe conditions.
            (7) Restricting abortion does not reduce either the need 
        for, or number of, abortions. Abortion rates are similar in 
        countries where it is highly restricted by law and where it is 
        broadly legal.
            (8) As part of their commitment to prevent unsafe abortions 
        and preventable deaths and ensure all people have access to 
        comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care and can 
        exercise their right to full control over their sexuality and 
        reproduction, developing countries and donor governments must 
        work collaboratively to deploy funding, align policies, and 
        mobilize expertise to make safe abortion services available to 
        those seeking to terminate pregnancies.
            (9) United States law restricting United States foreign 
        assistance funding from being used to provide safe abortion 
        services has the effect of harming people who seek to terminate 
        their pregnancies in several ways, including by blocking access 
        to services and erecting barriers to providers obtaining the 
        training and equipment needed to deliver care to those in need.
            (10) Since section 104(f)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act 
        of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151b(f)(1)) (commonly referred to as the 
        ``Helms amendment'') was enacted in 1973, dozens of governments 
        across the globe have liberalized abortion laws and policies.
            (11) In countries where the United States supports family 
        planning and reproductive health care and in which abortion is 
        legal on at least some grounds, support for safe abortion could 
        avert over 19 million unsafe abortions and 17,000 maternal 
        deaths each year.
            (12) When an abortion is performed in accordance with World 
        Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and standards, it is a 
        simple and safe procedure. The most recent WHO abortion 
        guidelines recommend the full decriminalization of abortion and 
        removal of grounds-based restrictions on abortion.
            (13) The Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (142 
        S. Ct. 2228 (2022)) decision goes against the global trend 
        toward expanding access to sexual and reproductive health and 
        rights, including abortion, and negatively impacts abortion 
        access across the United States and globally. The decision has 
        emboldened anti-abortion rights actors, increased abortion 
        stigma, and created new challenges for countries that have 
        relied on the Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)) decision in the 
        liberalization of their own laws.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States Government--
            (1) to recognize that safe abortion is a critical component 
        of comprehensive maternal and reproductive health care and 
        should be included as part of foreign assistance programs 
        funded by the United States Government;
            (2) to make safe abortion widely available and integrated 
        with other types of health care; and
            (3) to work to end unsafe abortion and promote safe 
        abortion services by providing funding and collaborating with 
        affected governments and service providers to provide training, 
        commodities, equipment, and access to safe abortion services.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZING THE USE OF FEDERAL FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FUNDS FOR 
              COMPREHENSIVE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE SERVICES.

    Section 104 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151b) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (f)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (1); and
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 
                paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively;
            (2) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (f), as amended, the 
        following:
    ``(g) Use of Funds for Comprehensive Reproductive Health Care 
Services.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds made 
available to carry out this part may be used to provide comprehensive 
reproductive health care services, including abortion services, 
training, and equipment.''.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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