I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4418 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a demonstration 
program to facilitate the clinical adoption of pregnancy intention screen-
ing initiatives by health care providers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 16, 2017 
Ms. BONAMICI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 
a demonstration program to facilitate the clinical adop-
tion of pregnancy intention screening initiatives by health 
care providers. 
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 ‘‘Enhancing Questions 
to Understand Intentions for Pregnancy Act of 2017’’ or 
the ‘‘EQUIP Act of 2017’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:23 Nov 21, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4418.IH
H4418
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. PREGNANCY INTENTION SCREENING INITIATIVE 
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 
Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new sections: 
‘‘SEC. 399V–7. PREGNANCY INTENTION SCREENING INITIA-
TIVE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, 
through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention, shall establish a demonstration program 
to facilitate the clinical adoption of pregnancy intention 
screening initiatives by health care providers. 
‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary may carry out the 
demonstration program through awarding grants to eligi-
ble entities to implement pregnancy intention screening 
initiatives, collect data, and evaluate such initiatives. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—An eligible entity under 
this section is an entity described in paragraph (2) 
that provides non-directive, comprehensive, medically 
accurate information. 
‘‘(2) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—For purposes of 
paragraph (1), an entity described in this paragraph 
is a community-based organization, voluntary health 
organization, public health department, community 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:23 Nov 21, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4418.IH
H4418
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
health center, or other interested public or private 
health care provider or organization. 
‘‘(d) PREGNANCY INTENTION SCREENING INITIA-
TIVE.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘pregnancy 
intention screening initiative’ means any initiative by a 
health care provider to routinely screen women with re-
spect to their pregnancy intentions and goals to either pre-
vent unintended pregnancies or improve the likelihood of 
healthy pregnancies, in order to better provide health care 
that meets the contraceptive or pre-pregnancy needs of 
such women. 
‘‘(e) EVALUATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, shall, by grant or contract, 
and after consultation as described in paragraph (2), 
conduct an evaluation of the demonstration pro-
gram, with respect to pregnancy intention screening 
initiatives, conducted under this section. The evalua-
tion shall include: 
‘‘(A) Assessment of the implementation of 
pregnancy intention screening protocols among 
a diverse group of patients and providers, in-
cluding collecting data on the experiences and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:23 Nov 21, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4418.IH
H4418
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
outcomes for diverse patient populations in a 
variety of clinical settings. 
‘‘(B) Analysis of outcome measures that 
will facilitate effective and widespread adoption 
of such protocols by health care providers for 
inquiring about and responding to pregnancy 
intentions of women with both contraceptive 
and pre-pregnancy care. 
‘‘(C) Consideration of health disparities 
among the population served. 
‘‘(D) Assessment of the equitable and vol-
untary application of such initiatives to minor-
ity and medically underserved communities. 
‘‘(E) Assessment of the training, capacity, 
and ongoing technical assistance needed for 
providers to effectively implement such preg-
nancy intention screening protocols. 
‘‘(F) Assessment of whether referral sys-
tems for selected protocols follow evidence-based 
standards that ensure access to comprehensive 
health services and appropriate follow-up care. 
‘‘(2) 
INDEPENDENT, 
EXPERT
ADVISORY 
PANEL.—In conducting the evaluation under para-
graph (1), the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention shall consult with physi-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:23 Nov 21, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4418.IH
H4418
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
cians, physician assistants, and nurses who spe-
cialize in women’s health, and other experts in clin-
ical practice, program evaluation, and research. 
‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than one year after 
the last day of the demonstration program under 
this section, the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention shall submit to Congress a 
report on the results of the evaluation conducted 
under paragraph (1) and shall make the report pub-
licly available. 
‘‘(f) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
To carry out this section, there is authorized to be 
appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2018 through 2020. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Not more than 25 percent 
of funds appropriated to carry out this section pur-
suant to paragraph (1) for a fiscal year may be used 
for purposes of the evaluation under subsection 
(e).’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:23 Nov 21, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4418.IH
H4418
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS