SAD Act

To prohibit disinformation in the advertising of abortion services, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Stop Antiabortion Disinformation Act SAD Act 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Abortion services are an essential component of reproductive health care. (2) On June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, reversing decades of precedent recognizing a constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability and permitting decimation of an already precarious landscape of abortion access. (3) The effects were immediate and disastrous. As of January 2023, abortion is unavailable in 14 States, leaving 17.8 million women of reproductive age (ages 15 to 49) and transgender and gender nonconforming individuals without abortion access in the home state of such individuals. (4) Travel time to an abortion clinic, already burdensome under Roe, has more than tripled since the Dobbs decision, as scores of clinics in already underserved areas have been forced to close and more patients have been forced to travel to other States. As distance to an abortion facility increases, so do the accompanying burdens of time off from work or school, lost wages, transportation costs, lodging, child care costs, and other ancillary costs. (5) The freedom to decide whether and when to have a child is key to the ability of an individual to participate fully in our democracy. (6) Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are antiabortion organizations that present themselves as comprehensive reproductive health care providers with the intent of discouraging pregnant people from having abortions. (7) According to the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance, there are more than 2,500 CPCs in the United States, though some antiabortion groups claim that the number is closer to 4,000. (8) According to 2020 data from JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, on average, CPCs outnumber abortion clinics nationwide by an average of 3 to 1. In some States, this statistic is higher. For example, The Alliance: State Advocates for Women’s Rights & Gender Equality (The Alliance) found that in Pennsylvania, CPCs outnumber abortion clinics by 9 to 1. The Alliance also found that in Minnesota, CPCs outnumber abortion clinics by 11 to 1. (9) CPCs routinely engage in a variety of deceptive tactics, including making false claims about reproductive health care and providers, disseminating inaccurate, misleading, and stigmatizing information about the risks of abortion and contraception, and using illegitimate or false citations to imply that deceptive claims are supported by legitimate medical sources. (10) CPCs typically advertise themselves as providers of comprehensive health care. However, most CPCs in the United States do not employ licensed medical personnel or provide referrals for birth control or abortion care. (11) By using these deceptive tactics, CPCs prevent people from accessing reproductive health care and intentionally delay access to time-sensitive abortion services. The harm of these delays is far greater in the wake of the Dobbs decision. (12) CPCs target underresourced neighborhoods and communities of color, including Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian-American, Pacific Islander, and immigrant communities, by locating their facilities near social services centers and comprehensive reproductive health care providers. CPCs place advertisements in these neighborhoods that mislead and draw people away from nearby providers that offer evidence-based sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion care. This exacerbates existing health barriers and delays access to time-sensitive care. (13) People are entitled to honest, accurate, and timely information when seeking reproductive health care. 3. Prohibition on disinformation of abortion services (a) Conduct prohibited (1) Prohibition It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in deceptive advertising about the reproductive health services offered by the person, including advertising that deceptively states that the person— (A) offers or provides contraception or abortion services (or referrals for such contraception or abortion services); or (B) employs or offers access to licensed medical personnel. (2) Rulemaking The Commission may promulgate regulations under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to implement this section. (3) Enforcement by the Commission A violation of this section or a regulation promulgated under this section shall be treated as a violation of a regulation under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B) 15 U.S.C. 41 et seq. (4) Nonprofit organizations Notwithstanding section 4, 5(a)(2), or 6 of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 44 (5) Civil penalty In addition to any other penalty as may be prescribed by law, any person who violates this section or a regulation promulgated under this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty that shall not exceed the greater of— (A) $100,000; or (B) 50 percent of the revenues earned by the ultimate parent entity of a person during the preceding 12-month period. (6) Independent litigation authority (A) Civil action by Commission If the Commission has reason to believe that a person has violated this section or a regulation promulgated under this section, the Commission may bring a civil action in any appropriate United States district court for any of the following remedies: (i) To enjoin any further such violation by such person. (ii) To enforce compliance with this section or a regulation promulgated under this section. (iii) To obtain a permanent, temporary, or preliminary injunction. (iv) To obtain civil penalties. (v) To obtain damages, restitution, or other compensation on behalf of aggrieved consumers. (vi) To obtain any other appropriate equitable relief. (B) Exclusive authority of Commission Except as otherwise provided in section 16(a)(3) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 56(a)(3) (b) Reports Beginning 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report that includes, with respect to the previous year, a description of any enforcement action by the Commission under this Act, any regulation promulgated under this Act, and the outcomes of such actions. (c) Savings clause Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any other provision of law. (d) Definitions In this Act: (1) Abortion services The term abortion services (2) Commission The term Commission (3) Person The term person

Summary: Stop Antiabortion Disinformation Act or the SAD Act This bill prohibits deceptive advertising for reproductive health services. Specifically, the bill makes deceptive advertising regarding whether a person provides contraceptives, abortion services, or access to licensed medical personnel subject to Federal Trade Commission enforcement.