I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6005 
To establish certain duties for pharmacies to ensure provision of Food and 
Drug Administration-approved contraception, medication related to con-
traception, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2021 
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Ms. PORTER, Ms. 
KELLY of Illinois, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. 
BONAMICI, Mr. COOPER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. WELCH, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. 
AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. JACOBS of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SIRES, 
Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Ms. WILLIAMS of 
Georgia, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. NEWMAN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. GRIJALVA, 
Ms. PINGREE, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. DANNY K. 
DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, 
Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. TITUS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. 
ESCOBAR, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. MCBATH, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. 
LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. SMITH 
of Washington, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mrs. FLETCHER, Ms. MENG, Mrs. 
NAPOLITANO, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. 
TORRES of New York, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. MANNING, Ms. ADAMS, Mrs. 
TRAHAN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. OMAR, 
Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. 
DESAULNIER, Ms. ROSS, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. 
KAHELE, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. CROW, Mr. LIEU, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, 
Ms. CHU, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. 
CICILLINE, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. SOTO, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. BROWN 
of Maryland, Mr. TRONE, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. CARSON, Mr. 
MCNERNEY, Mr. NADLER, Ms. BASS, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. DEAN, Mr. 
NEGUSE, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, 
Mr. COHEN, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 
GREEN of Texas, Ms. MCCOLLUM, and Mr. PERLMUTTER) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce 
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A BILL 
To establish certain duties for pharmacies to ensure provision 
of Food and Drug Administration-approved contracep-
tion, medication related to contraception, 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 ‘‘Access to Birth Control 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Family planning is basic health care. Access 
to contraception helps prevent unintended pregnancy 
and control the timing and spacing of planned 
births. 
(2) As a result of the enactment of the Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 
111–148), approximately 64,300,000 women had 
coverage of the full range of Food and Drug Admin-
istration-approved contraceptive methods without 
cost sharing in 2020. 
(3) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
Act saved women $1,400,000,000 on birth control 
pills alone in 2013. 
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(4) According to the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention, nearly 2⁄3 of women between the 
ages of 15 and 49 are currently using a contracep-
tive method. 
(5) Although the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention included family planning in its pub-
lished list of the Ten Great Public Health Achieve-
ments in the 20th Century, the United States still 
has one of the highest rates of unintended preg-
nancies among industrialized nations. 
(6) Each year, approximately 2,800,000 preg-
nancies, nearly half of all pregnancies, in the United 
States are unintended. 
(7) Access to birth control helps people achieve 
their goals of whether, and when, to get pregnant. 
Studies show that when people are unable to access 
contraceptive care that fits their lives, they are more 
likely to face unintended pregnancies. 
(8) Contraceptives are used for a range of med-
ical purposes in addition to preventing pregnancy, 
such as treating abnormal cycles and endometriosis. 
(9) The Food and Drug Administration has ap-
proved multiple emergency contraceptive methods as 
safe and effective in preventing unintended preg-
nancy and has approved over-the-counter access to 
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some forms of emergency contraception for all indi-
viduals, regardless of age. If taken soon after unpro-
tected sex or primary contraceptive failure, emer-
gency contraception can significantly reduce a per-
son’s chance of unintended pregnancy. 
(10) Legal contraception is a protected funda-
mental right in the United States and should not be 
impeded by one individual’s personal beliefs. 
(11) Reports of pharmacists refusing to fill pre-
scriptions for contraceptives, including emergency 
contraceptives, or provide emergency contraception 
over-the-counter have surfaced in States across the 
Nation, including Alabama, Arizona, California, the 
District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, 
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mon-
tana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, 
North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Is-
land, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, 
and Wisconsin. 
(12) One-third of women have experienced a 
delay in accessing their contraception because of the 
ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention recognizes the impor-
tance of access to contraception, particularly during 
the pandemic. 
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(13) Pregnant people have a much higher risk 
of dying once infected with COVID–19, which high-
lights the importance of people being able to make 
and exercise decisions about whether and when to 
become pregnant. 
SEC. 3. DUTIES OF PHARMACIES TO ENSURE PROVISION OF 
FDA-APPROVED CONTRACEPTION AND MEDI-
CATION RELATED TO CONTRACEPTION. 
Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 238 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 249. DUTIES OF PHARMACIES TO ENSURE PROVISION 
OF FDA-APPROVED CONTRACEPTION AND 
MEDICATION RELATED TO CONTRACEPTION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), a 
pharmacy that receives Food and Drug Administration- 
approved drugs or devices in interstate commerce shall 
maintain compliance with the following: 
‘‘(1) If a customer requests a contraceptive or 
a medication related to a contraceptive that is in 
stock, the pharmacy shall ensure that the contracep-
tive or the medication related to a contraceptive is 
provided to the customer without delay. 
‘‘(2) If a customer requests a contraceptive or 
a medication related to a contraceptive that is not 
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in stock and the pharmacy in the normal course of 
business stocks contraception or the medication re-
lated to contraception, the pharmacy shall imme-
diately inform the customer that the contraceptive or 
the medication related to a contraceptive is not in 
stock and without delay offer the customer the fol-
lowing options: 
‘‘(A) If the customer prefers to obtain the 
contraceptive or the medication related to a 
contraceptive through a referral or transfer, the 
pharmacy shall— 
‘‘(i) locate a pharmacy of the cus-
tomer’s choice or the closest pharmacy 
confirmed to have the contraceptive or the 
medication related to a contraceptive in 
stock; and 
‘‘(ii) refer the customer or transfer 
the prescription to that pharmacy. 
‘‘(B) If the customer prefers for the phar-
macy to order the contraceptive or the medica-
tion related to a contraceptive, the pharmacy 
shall obtain the contraceptive or the medication 
related to a contraceptive under the pharmacy’s 
standard procedure for expedited ordering of 
medication and notify the customer when the 
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‘‘(1) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this section shall be construed to invalidate or limit 
rights, remedies, procedures, or legal standards 
under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 
‘‘(2) CERTAIN
CLAIMS.—The Religious Free-
dom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et 
seq.) shall not provide a claim concerning, or a de-
fense to a claim under, a covered title, or provide a 
basis for challenging the application or enforcement 
of a covered title. 
‘‘(e) PREEMPTION.—This section does not preempt 
any provision of State law or any professional obligation 
made applicable by a State board or other entity respon-
sible for licensing or discipline of pharmacies or phar-
macists, to the extent that such State law or professional 
obligation provides protections for customers that are 
greater than the protections provided by this section. 
‘‘(f) ENFORCEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTY.—A pharmacy that vio-
lates a requirement of subsection (a) is liable to the 
United States for a civil penalty in an amount not 
exceeding $1,000 per day of violation, not to exceed 
$100,000 for all violations adjudicated in a single 
proceeding. 
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‘‘(2) PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION.—Any person 
aggrieved as a result of a violation of a requirement 
of subsection (a) may, in any court of competent ju-
risdiction, commence a civil action against the phar-
macy involved to obtain appropriate relief, including 
actual and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and a 
reasonable attorney’s fee and cost. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—A civil action under para-
graph (1) or (2) may not be commenced against a 
pharmacy after the expiration of the 5-year period 
beginning on the date on which the pharmacy alleg-
edly engaged in the violation involved. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘contraception’ or ‘contraceptive’ 
means any drug or device approved by the Food and 
Drug Administration to prevent pregnancy. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘employee’ means a person hired, 
by contract or any other form of an agreement, by 
a pharmacy. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘medication related to contracep-
tion’ or ‘medication related to a contraceptive’ 
means any drug or device approved by the Food and 
Drug Administration that a medical professional de-
termines necessary to use before or in conjunction 
with contraception or a contraceptive. 
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‘‘(4) The term ‘pharmacy’ means an entity 
that— 
‘‘(A) is authorized by a State to engage in 
the business of selling prescription drugs at re-
tail; and 
‘‘(B) employs one or more employees. 
‘‘(5) The term ‘product’ means a Food and 
Drug Administration-approved drug or device. 
‘‘(6) The term ‘professional clinical judgment’ 
means the use of professional knowledge and skills 
to form a clinical judgment, in accordance with pre-
vailing medical standards. 
‘‘(7) The term ‘without delay’, with respect to 
a pharmacy providing, providing a referral for, or 
ordering contraception or a medication related to 
contraception, or transferring the prescription for 
contraception or a medication related to contracep-
tion, means within the usual and customary time-
frame at the pharmacy for providing, providing a re-
ferral for, or ordering other products, or transferring 
the prescription for other products, respectively. 
‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef-
fect on the 31st day after the date of the enactment of 
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this section, without regard to whether the Secretary has 
issued any guidance or final rule regarding this section.’’. 
Æ 
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