I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3576 
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require a section on 
reproductive rights in the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights 
Practices, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 28, 2021 
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts (for herself, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. LEE of California, 
Ms. MENG, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mrs. TORRES of California, 
Ms. JACOBS
of California, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. 
BARRAGA´N, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BERA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLU-
MENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. 
BROWN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CARSON, Mr. 
CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CASE, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. CHU, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. 
CLARKE of New York, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CON-
NOLLY, Mr. COOPER, Mr. COSTA, Mr. CRIST, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of 
Illinois, Ms. DEAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. 
DELBENE, Mr. DELGADO, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. DIN-
GELL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. 
GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GREEN of 
Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JACKSON 
LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. JONES, Mr. KEATING, 
Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. 
KIND, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. KUSTER, Mrs. 
LAWRENCE, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LIEU, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. 
CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. 
MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, 
Mr. MORELLE, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. 
NEGUSE, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. 
PAPPAS, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. 
PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of New 
York, Ms. ROSS, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RYAN, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. 
SARBANES, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. SE-
WELL, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Wash-
ington, Mr. SOTO, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. 
TAKANO, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TONKO, Mr. TORRES of New York, 
Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. 
VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WATERS, Mr. WELCH, Ms. 
WEXTON, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Mr. 
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YARMUTH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require 
a section on reproductive rights in the Annual Country 
Reports on Human Rights Practices, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Reproductive Rights 
are Human Rights Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States has joined the inter-
national community in identifying reproductive 
rights as human rights, including in connection with 
the 1994 International Conference on Population 
and Development, the 1995 Beijing World Con-
ference on Women, and through its ratification of 
the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights, done at New York December 19, 1966 (re-
ferred to in this Act as ‘‘ICCPR’’), the International 
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Ra-
cial Discrimination, done at New York December 21, 
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1965, and the Convention against Torture and 
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment, done at New York December 10, 1984. 
(2) General comment No. 36 (2018) on article 
6 of the ICCPR, which was adopted by the Human 
Rights Committee on October 30, 2018, asserts that 
States parties— 
(A) should ensure access for all persons to 
‘‘quality and evidence-based information and 
education about sexual and reproductive health 
and to a wide range of affordable contraceptive 
methods’’; 
(B) ‘‘must provide safe, legal, and effective 
access to abortion where the life and health of 
the pregnant woman or girl is at risk, or where 
carrying a pregnancy to term would cause the 
pregnant woman or girl substantial pain or suf-
fering, most notably where pregnancy is the re-
sult of rape or incest or is not viable’’; 
(C) ‘‘ensure the availability of, and effec-
tive access to, quality prenatal and post-abor-
tion health care for women and girls’’; and 
(D) must not impose restrictions on the 
ability of women or girls to seek abortion in a 
manner that jeopardizes their lives, subjects 
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them to physical or mental pain or suffering, 
discriminates against them, arbitrarily inter-
feres with their privacy, or places them at risk 
of undertaking unsafe abortions. 
(3) Reproductive coercion, which is any behav-
ior that interferes with autonomous decision making 
about reproductive health outcomes, is a violation of 
human rights. 
(4) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, 
and intersex persons (LGBTQI+) face stigma and 
discrimination in accessing reproductive health serv-
ices, and barriers, including anti-LGBTQI+ laws, 
policies, and gender norms in countries. The denial 
of access to sexual and reproductive health care and 
associated human rights violations due to these bar-
riers should be reported in relevant Department of 
State Annual Country Reports on Human Rights 
Practices. 
(5) Human rights are grounded in international 
standards. The Department of State’s deletion of 
the reproductive rights subsection from its 2017, 
2018, and 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights 
Practices inappropriately politicized human rights of 
people around the world. 
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(6) Limiting reproductive rights also limits 
pathways to economic, social, and political empower-
ment. Sexual and reproductive health and rights are 
essential for sustainable economic development, are 
intrinsically linked to gender equality and women’s 
well-being, and are critical to community health. 
(7) The global COVID–19 pandemic has placed 
at risk the fulfillment of reproductive rights. The 
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for 
Human Rights has raised concerns that overloaded 
health systems, shortages of medical supplies, and 
disruptions of global supply chains have undermined 
the sexual and reproductive health and rights of in-
dividuals. 
SEC. 3. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
PRACTICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)), by 
amending paragraph (2) to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) the status of reproductive rights in each 
country, including— 
‘‘(A) whether such country has adopted 
and enforced policies— 
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