I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2525
To protect women’s reproductive health and constitutional right to choice,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 23, 1997
Mrs. LOWEY (for herself, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. MALONEY of New
York, Ms. WATERS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. MILLENDER-
MCDONALD, Ms. RIVERS, Ms. HARMAN, and Ms. SLAUGHTER) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Edu-
cation and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To protect women’s reproductive health and constitutional
right to choice, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Family Planning and
Choice Protection Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) reproductive rights are central to the ability
of women to exercise full enjoyment of rights se-
cured to women 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, the American Medi-
cal Women’s Association, the American Nurses As-
sociation, and the American Public Health Associa-
tion;
(3) the availability of abortion services is dimin-
ishing throughout the United States, as evidenced
by—
(A) the fact that 84 percent of counties in
the United States have no abortion provider;
and
(B) the fact that, between 1982 and 1992,
the number of abortion providers decreased in
45 States; and
(4)(A) the Department of Health and Human
Services and the Institute of Medicine of the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences have contributed to the
development of a report entitled ‘‘Healthy People
2000’’, which urges that the rate of unintended
pregnancy in the United States be reduced by nearly
50 percent by the year 2000;
(B) 60 percent, or approximately 3,100,000, of
all pregnancies in the United States each year are
unintended, resulting in 1,500,000 abortions in the
United States each year; and
(C) the provision of family planning services,
including emergency contraception, is a cost-effective
way of reducing the number of unintended preg-
nancies and abortions in the United States; and
(5) at a minimum, Congress must enact legisla-
tion establishing or retaining the following policies to
preserve the choice and reproductive health of
women:
(A) Authorization of family planning pro-
grams.
(B) The prohibition of any gag rule on in-
formation pertaining to reproductive medical
services.
(C) The promotion of equitable treatment
and coverage of prescription contraception
drugs and devices in the provision of health in-
surance.
(D) The provision of funding for emer-
gency contraceptive education.
(E) The establishment of breast cancer,
cervical cancer, and chlamydia screening pro-
grams in all 50 States.
(F) Full implementation of contraceptive
and infertility research programs.
(G) Funding through the medicaid pro-
gram under title XIX of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) for abortion services.
(H) Protection of women from clinic vio-
lence.
(I) Final approval of the drug called
Mifepristone or RU–486.
(J) The maintenance of a fundamental
right to choose, as stated in the Supreme Court
decision in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
(K) The establishment of the right of the
District of Columbia to access locally raised
revenue to provide abortion services to low-in-
come women.
(L) The promotion of fairness in insur-
ance.
(M) The establishment of the ability of
military personnel overseas to obtain abortion
services.
TITLE I—PREVENTION
Subtitle A—Family Planning
SEC. 101. 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 making grants and entering
into contracts under this section, there are authorized to
be appropriated $275,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and
such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years
2000 through 2003.’’.
SEC. 102. FREEDOM OF FULL DISCLOSURE.
Title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
2000h et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing:
‘‘SEC. 1107. INFORMATION ABOUT AVAILABILITY OF REPRO-
DUCTIVE HEALTH CARE SERVICES.
‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term
‘governmental authority’ means any authority of the Unit-
ed States.
‘‘(b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, no governmental authority shall,
in or through any program or activity that is administered
or assisted by such authority and that provides health care
services or information, limit the right of any person to
provide, or the right of any person to receive, nonfraudu-
lent information about the availability of reproductive
health care services, including family planning, prenatal
care, adoption, and abortion services.’’.
Subtitle B—Prescription Equity
and Contraceptive Coverage
SEC. 111. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) each year, approximately 3,100,000 preg-
nancies, or nearly 60 percent of all pregnancies, in
this country are unintended;
(2) contraceptive services are part of basic
health care, allowing families to both adequately
space desired pregnancies and avoid unintended
pregnancy;
(3) studies show that contraceptives are cost-ef-
fective: for every $1 of public funds invested in fam-
ily planning, $4 to $14 of public funds is saved in
pregnancy and health care-related costs;
(4) by reducing rates of unintended pregnancy,
contraceptives help reduce the need for abortion;
(5) unintended pregnancies lead to higher rates
of infant mortality, low-birth weight, and maternal
morbidity, and threaten the economic viability of
families;
(6) the National Commission to Prevent Infant
Mortality determined that ‘‘infant mortality could be
reduced by 10 percent if all women not desiring
pregnancy used contraception’’;
(7) most women in the United States, including
two-thirds of women of childbearing age, rely on
some form of private employment-related insurance
(through either their own employer or a family mem-
ber’s employer) to defray their medical expenses;
(8) the vast majority of private insurers cover
prescription drugs, but many exclude coverage for
prescription contraceptives;
(9) private insurance provides extremely limited
coverage of contraceptives: half of traditional indem-
nity plans and preferred provider organizations, 20
percent of point-of-service networks, and 7 percent
of health maintenance organizations cover no contra-
ceptive methods other than sterilization;
(10) women of reproductive age spend 68 per-
cent more than men on out-of-pocket health care
costs, with contraceptives and reproductive health
care services accounting for much of the difference;
(11) the lack of contraceptive coverage in health
insurance places many effective forms of contracep-
tives beyond the financial reach of many women,
leading to unintended pregnancies; and
(12) the Institute of Medicine Committee on
Unintended Pregnancy recently recommended that
‘‘financial barriers to contraception be reduced by
increasing the proportion of all health insurance
policies that cover contraceptive services and sup-
plies’’.
SEC. 112. AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT
INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part 7 of subtitle
B of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 (as added by section 603(a) of the Newborns’
and Mothers’ Health Protection Act of 1996 and amended
by section 702(a) of the Mental Health Parity Act of
1996) is further amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing new section:
‘‘SEC. 713. STANDARDS RELATING TO BENEFITS FOR CON-
TRACEPTIVES.
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
COVERAGE.—A group
health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing health
insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan,
may not—
‘‘(1) exclude or restrict benefits for prescription
contraceptive drugs or devices approved by the Food
and Drug Administration, or generic equivalents ap-
proved as substitutable by the Food and Drug Ad-
ministration, if such plan provides benefits for other
outpatient prescription drugs or devices; or
‘‘(2) exclude or restrict benefits for outpatient
contraceptive services if such plan provides benefits
for other outpatient services provided by a health
care professional (referred to in this section as ‘out-
patient health care services’).
‘‘(b) PROHIBITIONS.—A group health plan, and a
health insurance issuer providing health insurance cov-
erage in connection with a group health plan, may not—
‘‘(1) deny to an individual eligibility, or contin-
ued eligibility, to enroll or to renew coverage under
the terms of the plan because of the individual’s or
enrollee’s use or potential use of items or services
that are covered in accordance with the requirements
of this section;
‘‘(2) provide monetary payments or rebates to
a covered individual to encourage such individual to
accept less than the minimum protections available
under this section;
‘‘(3) penalize or otherwise reduce or limit the
reimbursement of a health care professional because
such professional prescribed contraceptive drugs or
devices, or provided contraceptive services, described
in subsection (a), in accordance with this section; or
‘‘(4) provide incentives (monetary or otherwise)
to a health care professional to induce such profes-
sional to withhold from a covered individual contra-
ceptive drugs or devices, or contraceptive services,
described in subsection (a).
‘‘(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Nothing in this section
shall be construed—
‘‘(A) as preventing a group health plan
and a health insurance issuer providing health
insurance coverage in connection with a group
health plan from imposing deductibles, coinsur-
ance, or other cost-sharing or limitations in re-
lation to—
‘‘(i) benefits for contraceptive drugs
under the plan, except that such a deduct-
ible, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing or
limitation for any such drug may not be
greater than such a deductible, coinsur-
ance, or cost-sharing or limitation for any
outpatient prescription drug otherwise cov-
ered under the plan;
‘‘(ii) benefits for contraceptive devices
under the plan, except that such a deduct-
ible, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing or
limitation for any such device may not be
greater than such a deductible, coinsur-
ance, or cost-sharing or limitation for any
outpatient prescription device otherwise
covered under the plan; and
‘‘(iii) benefits for outpatient contra-
ceptive services under the plan, except that
such a deductible, coinsurance, or other
cost-sharing or limitation for any such
service may not be greater than such a de-
ductible, coinsurance, or cost-sharing or
limitation for any outpatient health care
service otherwise covered under the plan;
and
‘‘(B) as requiring a group health plan and
a health insurance issuer providing health in-
surance coverage in connection with a group
health plan to cover experimental or investiga-
tional contraceptive drugs or devices, or experi-
mental or investigational contraceptive services,
described in subsection (a), except to the extent
that the plan or issuer provides coverage for
other experimental or investigational outpatient
prescription drugs or devices, or experimental
or investigational outpatient health care serv-
ices.
‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—As used in paragraph (1),
the term ‘limitation’ includes—
‘‘(A) in the case of a contraceptive drug or
device, restricting the type of health care pro-
fessionals that may prescribe such drugs or de-
vices, utilization review provisions, and limits on
the volume of prescription drugs or devices that
may be obtained on the basis of a single con-
sultation with a professional; or
‘‘(B) in the case of an outpatient contra-
ceptive service, restricting the type of health
care professionals that may provide such serv-
ices, utilization review provisions, requirements
relating to second opinions prior to the coverage
of such services, and requirements relating to
preauthorizations prior to the coverage of such
services.
‘‘(d) NOTICE UNDER GROUP HEALTH PLAN.—The
imposition of the requirements of this section shall be
treated as a material modification in the terms of the plan
described in section 102(a)(1), for purposes of assuring
notice of such requirements under the plan, except that
the summary description required to be provided under the
last sentence of section 104(b)(1) with respect to such
modification shall be provided by not later than 60 days
after the first day of the first plan year in which such
requirements apply.
‘‘(e) PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section shall be
construed to preempt any provision of State law to the
extent that such State law establishes, implements, or con-
tinues in effect any standard or requirement that provides
protections for enrollees that are greater than the protec-
tions provided under this section.
‘‘(f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘out-
patient contraceptive services’ means consultations, exami-
nations, procedures, and medical services, provided on an
outpatient basis and related to the use of contraceptive
methods (including natural family planning) to prevent an
unintended pregnancy.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
in section 1 of such Act, as amended by section 603 of
the Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act of
1996 and section 702 of the Mental Health Parity Act
of 1996, is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 712 the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 713. Standards relating to benefits for contraceptives.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply with respect to plan years begin-
ning on or after January 1, 1998.
SEC. 113. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
ACT RELATING TO THE GROUP MARKET.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 2 of part A of title
XXVII of the Public Health Service Act (as added by sec-
tion 604(a) of the Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protec-
tion Act of 1996 and amended by section 703(a) of the
Mental Health Parity Act of 1996) is further amended
by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 2706. STANDARDS RELATING TO BENEFITS FOR CON-
TRACEPTIVES.
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
COVERAGE.—A group
health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing health
insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan,
may not—
‘‘(1) exclude or restrict benefits for prescription
contraceptive drugs or devices approved by the Food
and Drug Administration, or generic equivalents ap-
proved as substitutable by the Food and Drug Ad-
ministration, if such plan provides benefits for other
outpatient prescription drugs or devices; or
‘‘(2) exclude or restrict benefits for outpatient
contraceptive services if such plan provides benefits
for other outpatient services provided by a health
care professional (referred to in this section as ‘out-
patient health care services’).
‘‘(b) PROHIBITIONS.—A group health plan, and a
health insurance issuer providing health insurance cov-
erage in connection with a group health plan, may not—
‘‘(1) deny to an individual eligibility, or contin-
ued eligibility, to enroll or to renew coverage under
the terms of the plan because of the individual’s or
enrollee’s use or potential use of items or services
that are covered in accordance with the requirements
of this section;
‘‘(2) provide monetary payments or rebates to
a covered individual to encourage such individual to
accept less than the minimum protections available
under this section;
‘‘(3) penalize or otherwise reduce or limit the
reimbursement of a health care professional because
such professional prescribed contraceptive drugs or
devices, or provided contraceptive services, described
in subsection (a), in accordance with this section; or
‘‘(4) provide incentives (monetary or otherwise)
to a health care professional to induce such profes-
sional to withhold from a covered individual contra-
ceptive drugs or devices, or contraceptive services,
described in subsection (a).
‘‘(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Nothing in this section
shall be construed—
‘‘(A) as preventing a group health plan
and a health insurance issuer providing health
insurance coverage in connection with a group
health plan from imposing deductibles, coinsur-
ance, or other cost-sharing or limitations in re-
lation to—
‘‘(i) benefits for contraceptive drugs
under the plan, except that such a deduct-
ible, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing or
limitation for any such drug may not be
greater than such a deductible, coinsur-
ance, or cost-sharing or limitation for any
outpatient prescription drug otherwise cov-
ered under the plan;
‘‘(ii) benefits for contraceptive devices
under the plan, except that such a deduct-
ible, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing or
limitation for any such device may not be
greater than such a deductible, coinsur-
ance, or cost-sharing or limitation for any
outpatient prescription device otherwise
covered under the plan; and
‘‘(iii) benefits for outpatient contra-
ceptive services under the plan, except that
such a deductible, coinsurance, or other
cost-sharing or limitation for any such
service may not be greater than such a de-
ductible, coinsurance, or cost-sharing or
limitation for any outpatient health care
service otherwise covered under the plan;
and
‘‘(B) as requiring a group health plan and
a health insurance issuer providing health in-
surance coverage in connection with a group
health plan to cover experimental or investiga-
tional contraceptive drugs or devices, or experi-
mental or investigational contraceptive services,
described in subsection (a), except to the extent
that the plan or issuer provides coverage for
other experimental or investigational outpatient
prescription drugs or devices, or experimental
or investigational outpatient health care serv-
ices.
‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—As used in paragraph (1),
the term ‘limitation’ includes—
‘‘(A) in the case of a contraceptive drug or
device, restricting the type of health care pro-
fessionals that may prescribe such drugs or de-
vices, utilization review provisions, and limits on
the volume of prescription drugs or devices that
may be obtained on the basis of a single con-
sultation with a professional; or
‘‘(B) in the case of an outpatient contra-
ceptive service, restricting the type of health
care professionals that may provide such serv-
ices, utilization review provisions, requirements
relating to second opinions prior to the coverage
of such services, and requirements relating to
preauthorizations prior to the coverage of such
services.
‘‘(d) NOTICE.—A group health plan under this part
shall comply with the notice requirement under section
713(d) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 with respect to the requirements of this section
as if such section applied to such plan.
‘‘(e) PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section shall be
construed to preempt any provision of State law to the
extent that such State law establishes, implements, or con-
tinues in effect any standard or requirement that provides
protections for enrollees that are greater than the protec-
tions provided under this section.
‘‘(f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘out-
patient contraceptive services’ means consultations, exami-
nations, procedures, and medical services, provided on an
outpatient basis and related to the use of contraceptive
methods (including natural family planning) to prevent an
unintended pregnancy.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply with respect to group health plans
for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 1998.
SEC. 114. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
ACT RELATING TO THE INDIVIDUAL MARKET.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 3 of part B of title
XXVII of the Public Health Service Act (as added by sec-
tion 605(a) of the Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protec-
tion Act of 1996) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
‘‘SEC. 2752. STANDARDS RELATING TO BENEFITS FOR CON-
TRACEPTIVES.
‘‘The provisions of section 2706 shall apply to health
insurance coverage offered by a health insurance issuer
in the individual market in the same manner as they apply
to health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance
issuer in connection with a group health plan in the small
or large group market.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
this section shall apply with respect to health insurance
coverage offered, sold, issued, renewed, in effect, or oper-
ated in the individual market on or after January 1, 1998.
Subtitle C—Emergency
Contraceptives
SEC. 121. EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTIVE EDUCATION.
(a) DEFINITION.—In this section:
(1) EMERGENCY
CONTRACEPTIVE.—The term
‘‘emergency contraceptive’’ means a drug or device
(as the terms are defined in section 201 of the Fed-
eral Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321))
that is designed—
(A) to be used after sexual relations; and
(B) to prevent pregnancy, by preventing
ovulation, fertilization of an egg, or implanta-
tion of an egg in a uterus.
(2) HEALTH
CARE
PROVIDER.—The term
‘‘health care provider’’ means anyone licensed or cer-
tified under State law to provide health care services
who is operating within the scope of such license.
(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the
meaning given the term in section 1201(a) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).
(b) EMERGENCY
CONTRACEPTIVE
PUBLIC
EDU-
CATION PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and
Human Services, acting through the Director of the
Centers for Disease Control, shall develop and dis-
seminate to the public information on emergency
contraceptives.
(2) DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION.—The
Secretary may develop and disseminate the informa-
tion directly or through arrangements with nonprofit
organizations, consumer groups, institutions of high-
er education, Federal, State, or local agencies, and
clinics.
(3) INFORMATION.—The information shall in-
clude, at a minimum, information describing emer-
gency contraceptives, and explaining the use, effects,
efficacy, and availability of the contraceptives.
(c) EMERGENCY
CONTRACEPTIVE
INFORMATION
PROGRAM FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and
Human Services, acting through the Administrator
of the Health Resources and Services Administra-
tion, shall develop and disseminate to health care
providers information on emergency contraceptives.
(2) INFORMATION.—The information shall in-
clude, at a minimum—
(A) information describing the use, effects,
and efficacy and availability of the contracep-
tives;
(B) a recommendation from the Secretary
regarding the use of the contraceptives in ap-
propriate cases; and
(C) information explaining how to obtain
copies of the information developed under sub-
section (b), for distribution to the patients of
the providers.
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$5,000,000 for the period consisting of fiscal years 1999
through 2001.
TITLE II—RESEARCH
SEC. 201. PREVENTIVE HEALTH MEASURES REGARDING
BREAST 
AND 
CERVICAL 
CANCER 
AND
CHLAMYDIA.
It is the sense of Congress that the programs of
grants under section 318 and title XV of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247c and 300k et seq.)
should receive a level of funding that is adequate for all
States, or entities in all States, as appropriate, to receive
grants under such section and title.
SEC. 202. PROGRAMS REGARDING CONTRACEPTION AND
INFERTILITY.
(a) RESEARCH CENTERS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the program assisting research centers under
section 452A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
285g–5) should receive a level of funding that is adequate
for a reasonable number of research centers to be operated
under the program.
(b) LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM REGARDING CON-
DUCT OF RESEARCH.—It is the sense of Congress that
the program of loan-repayment contracts under section
487B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 288–
2) should receive a level of funding that is adequate for
a reasonable number of individuals to conduct research
under the program.
TITLE III—CHOICE PROTECTION
SEC. 301. FUNDING FOR ABORTION SERVICES.
It is the sense of Congress that Federal and State
governments should provide funding for abortion services
to women eligible for assistance through the medicaid pro-
gram carried out under title XIX of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), as such services are essential
to the health and well-being of women.
SEC. 302. 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.
SEC. 303. APPROVAL OF RU–486.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall—
(1) ensure that a decision by the Food and
Drug Administration to approve the drug called
Mifepristone or RU–486 shall be made only on the
basis provided in 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 the drug or other antiprogestins.
SEC. 304. FREEDOM OF CHOICE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(ii) burden interstate and international
commerce by forcing women to travel from
States in which legal barriers render contracep-
tion or abortion unavailable or unsafe to other
States or foreign nations;
(iii) interfere with freedom of travel be-
tween and among the various States;
(iv) burden the medical and economic re-
sources of States that continue to provide
women with access to safe and legal abortion;
and
(v) interfere with the ability of medical
professionals to provide health services;
(B) obstruct access to and use of contra-
ceptive and other medical techniques that are
part of interstate and international commerce;
(C) discriminate between women who are
able to afford interstate and international travel
and women who are not, a disproportionate
number of whom belong to racial or ethnic mi-
norities; and
(D) infringe on the ability of women to ex-
ercise full enjoyment of rights secured to the
women by Federal and State law, both statu-
tory and constitutional.
(3) Although Congress may not by legislation
create constitutional rights, Congress may, where
authorized by a constitutional provision enumerating
the powers of Congress and not prohibited by a con-
stitutional provision, enact legislation to create and
secure statutory rights in areas of legitimate na-
tional concern.
(4) Congress has the affirmative power under
section 8 of article I of the Constitution and under
section 5 of the 14th amendment to the Constitution
to enact legislation to prohibit State interference
with interstate commerce, liberty, or equal protection
of the laws.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es-
tablish, as a statutory matter, limitations on the power
of a State to restrict the freedom of a woman to terminate
a pregnancy in order to achieve the same limitations as
were provided, as a constitutional matter, under the strict
scrutiny standard of review enunciated in the Roe v. Wade
decision and applied in subsequent cases from 1973
through 1988.
(c) 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.
(d) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—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.
(e) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to—
(1) prevent a State from protecting unwilling
individuals or private health care institutions from
being required to participate in the performance of
abortions to which the individuals or institutions are
conscientiously opposed;
(2) prevent a State from declining to pay for
the performance of abortions; or
(3) prevent a State from requiring a minor to
involve a parent, guardian, or other responsible
adult before terminating a pregnancy.
SEC. 305. FAIRNESS IN INSURANCE.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Fed-
eral law shall be construed to prohibit a health plan from
offering coverage for the full range of reproductive health
care services, including abortion services.
SEC. 306. REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN THE MILI-
TARY.
Section 1093 of title 10, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting before the pe-
riod the following: ‘‘or in a case in which the preg-
nancy involved is the result of an act of rape or in-
cest or the abortion involved is medically necessary
or appropriate’’;
(2) by striking subsection (b) (as added by sec-
tion 738 of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 1996 (Public Law 104–106; 110
Stat. 383)); and
(3) 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.’’.
Æ