I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1952
To protect women’s reproductive health and constitutional right to choice.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 28, 1995
Mrs. SCHROEDER (for herself, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. JACKSON-LEE, Ms. RIVERS,
Mrs. KENNELLY, Ms. DELAURO, Miss COLLINS of Michigan, Mrs. COL-
LINS of Illinois, Ms. FURSE, Ms. HARMAN, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. MALONEY,
Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Ms. PELOSI,
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKERMAN,
Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. BEILENSON, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. BERMAN, Mr.
CARDIN, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DELLUMS,
Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FARR, Mr. FRANK of Mas-
sachusetts, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HINCHEY,
Mr. HORN, Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr.
MILLER of California, Mr. MINETA, Mr. NADLER, Mr. OLVER, Mr.
REED, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SABO, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SCHU-
MER, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. STARK, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. WARD, Mr. YATES, and
Ms. LOFGREN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Com-
merce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To protect women’s reproductive health and constitutional
right to choice.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women’s Choice and
Reproductive Health Protection Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) reproductive rights are central to women’s
ability to exercise full enjoyment of rights secured to
them by Federal and State law;
(2) abortion has been a legal and constitu-
tionally protected medical procedure throughout the
United States since 1973 and has become part of
mainstream medical practice as is evidenced by the
positions of medical institutions including the Amer-
ican Medical Association, the American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American
Medical Women’s Association;
(3) the availability of abortion services is dimin-
ishing throughout the United States: 84 percent of
counties have no abortion provider and between
1982 and 1992 the number of providers decreased
in 45 States; and
(4) at a minimum, Congress must retain the
following policies, which currently preserve women’s
choice and reproductive health:
(A) Funding for abortion services for vic-
tims of rape and incest.
(B) Protection from clinic violence.
(C) The implementation of breast cancer,
cervical cancer and chlamydia screening pro-
grams in all 50 States.
(D) Full implementation of legislation to
establish contraceptive and infertility research
programs.
(E) Authorization of family planning pro-
grams.
(F) The prohibition of a ‘‘gag’’ rule on in-
formation pertaining to reproductive medical
services.
(G) The evaluation of RU–486.
(H) The fundamental right to choose, as
stated by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade.
(I) Fairness in insurance.
(J) The ability of military personnel over-
seas to purchase abortion services at military
facilities with private funds.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ISSUES.
(a) RAPE AND INCEST VICTIM PROTECTION.—It is
the sense of Congress that the current provisions requiring
funding of abortion services in cases of life endangerment,
rape or incest for women eligible for medical assistance
are essential to their health and well-being and therefore
Federal and State governments must provide funding in
these cases.
(b) CLINIC VIOLENCE.—It is the sense of Congress
that—
(1) Federal resources are necessary to ensure
that women have safe access to reproductive health
facilities and that health professionals can deliver
services in a secure environment free from violence
and threats of force; and
(2) it is necessary and appropriate to use Fed-
eral resources to combat the nationwide campaign of
violence and harassment against reproductive health
centers.
(c) PREVENTIVE HEALTH MEASURES REGARDING
BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER.—It is the sense of the
Congress that the program of grants under title XV of
the Public Health Service Act should receive a level of
funding that is adequate for all States to receive grants
under such title.
(d) PROGRAMS REGARDING CONTRACEPTION
AND
INFERTILITY.—
(1) RESEARCH CENTERS.—It is the sense of the
Congress that the program of research centers under
section 452A of the Public Health Service Act
should receive a level of funding that is adequate for
a reasonable number of research centers to be oper-
ated under the program.
(2) LOAN
REPAYMENT
PROGRAM
REGARDING
CONDUCT
OF
RESEARCH.—It is the sense of the
Congress that the program of loan-repayment con-
tracts under section 487B of the Public Health
Service Act should receive a level of funding that is
adequate for a reasonable number of individuals to
conduct research under the program.
(3) SCREENINGS
FOR
INFERTILITY-RELATED
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES.—It is the sense
of the Congress that the program of grants under
section 318A of the Public Health Service Act
should receive a level of funding that is adequate for
screenings under such section to be available in all
States.
SEC. 4. FAMILY PLANNING AMENDMENTS.
Section 1001(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 300(d)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(d) For the purpose of grants and contracts under
this section, there are authorized to be appropriated
$220,000,000 for fiscal year 1996, $250,000,000 for fis-
cal year 1997, and such sums as may be necessary for
each of the fiscal years 1998 through 2000.’’.
SEC. 5. FREEDOM OF FULL DISCLOSURE.
Title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 1107. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, no governmental authority shall, in or through any
program or activity that provides health care services or
information, administered or assisted by such authority,
limit the right of any person to provide, or the right of
any person to receive, nonfraudulent information about
the availability of reproductive health care services, includ-
ing family planning, prenatal care, adoption, and abortion
services.
‘‘(b) As used in this section the term ‘governmental
authority’ means any authority of the United States.’’.
SEC. 6. FAIRNESS IN EVALUATION OF RU–486.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall—
(1) assure that the Food and Drug Administra-
tion evaluates the drug called Mifepristone or RU–
486 only on the basis provided by law; and
(2) assess initiatives by which the Department
of Health and Human Services can promote the
testing, licensing, and manufacturing in the United
States of this drug or other antiprogestins.
SEC. 7. FREEDOM OF CHOICE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) The 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v.
Wade established constitutionally based limits on the
power of States to restrict the right of a woman to
choose to terminate a pregnancy. Under the strict
scrutiny standard enunciated in Roe v. Wade, States
were required to demonstrate that laws restricting
the right of a woman to choose to terminate a preg-
nancy were the least restrictive means available to
achieve a compelling State interest. Since 1989, the
Supreme Court has no longer applied the strict scru-
tiny standard in reviewing challenges to the constitu-
tionality of State laws restricting such rights.
(2) As a result of the Supreme Court’s recent
modification of the strict scrutiny standard enun-
ciated in Roe v. Wade, certain States have restricted
the right of women to choose to terminate a preg-
nancy or to utilize some forms of contraception, and
these restrictions operate cumulatively to—
(A)(i) increase the number of illegal or
medically less safe abortions, often resulting in
physical impairment, loss of reproductive capac-
ity or death to the women involved;
(ii) burden interstate commerce by forcing
women to travel from States in which legal bar-
riers render contraception or abortion unavail-
constitutional provision, enact legislation to create
and secure statutory rights in areas of legitimate na-
tional concern.
(4) Congress has the affirmative power both
under section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the
United States and under section 5 of the Fourteenth
Amendment of the Constitution to enact legislation
to prohibit State interference with interstate com-
merce, liberty or equal protection of the laws.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to
establish, as a statutory matter, limitations upon the
power of States to restrict the freedom of a woman to ter-
minate a pregnancy in order to achieve the same limita-
tions as provided, as a constitutional matter, under the
strict scrutiny standard of review enunciated in Roe v.
Wade and applied in subsequent cases from 1973 to 1988.
(c) IN GENERAL.—A State—
(1) may not restrict the freedom of a woman to
choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy be-
fore fetal viability;
(2) may restrict the freedom of a woman to
choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy
after fetal viability unless such a termination is nec-
essary to preserve the life or health of the woman;
and
(3) may impose requirements on the perform-
ance of abortion procedures if such requirements are
medically necessary to protect the health of women
undergoing such procedures.
(d) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term
‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia, the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico, and each other territory or posses-
sion of the United States.
SEC. 8. FAIRNESS IN INSURANCE.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law no Fed-
eral law shall be construed to prohibit a provider of health
insurance from offering coverage for the full range of re-
productive health care, including abortion services.
SEC. 9. ABORTIONS IN FACILITIES OF THE UNIFORMED
SERVICES NOT PROHIBITED IF NOT FEDER-
ALLY FUNDED.
Section 1093 of title 10, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) LIMITATION.—’’ before
‘‘Funds’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) ABORTIONS IN FACILITIES OVERSEAS.—Sub-
section (a) does not limit the performing of an abortion
in a facility of the uniformed services located outside the
48 contiguous States of the United States if—
‘‘(1) the cost of performing the abortion is fully
paid from a source or sources other than funds
available to the Department of Defense;
‘‘(2) abortions are not prohibited by the laws of
the jurisdiction where the facility is located; and
‘‘(3) the abortion would otherwise be permitted
under the laws applicable to the provision of health
care to members and former members of the uni-
formed services and their dependents in such facil-
ity.’’.
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