Title: A resolution expressing opposition to the criminalization of essential healthcare, including the full range of sexual and reproductive healthcare such as abortion, gender-affirming care, and contraceptive care, and disapproving of the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This resolution expresses opposition to the application of criminal laws to pregnancy outcomes and affirms that people deserve access to high-quality health care without fear of reprisal or punishment.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 664 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 664

 Expressing opposition to the criminalization of essential healthcare, 
including the full range of sexual and reproductive healthcare such as 
     abortion, gender-affirming care, and contraceptive care, and 
       disapproving of the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                 June 8 (legislative day, June 7), 2022

 Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Cardin, Mr. 
Murphy, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Warren, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
Markey, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Peters, 
   Ms. Hirono, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Heinrich) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
                          Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing opposition to the criminalization of essential healthcare, 
including the full range of sexual and reproductive healthcare such as 
     abortion, gender-affirming care, and contraceptive care, and 
       disapproving of the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes.

Whereas access to the full range of sexual, gender-affirming, and reproductive 
        healthcare, including abortion, is essential to the health and well-
        being of all people;
Whereas reproductive and sexual healthcare providers, and those who support 
        people making important healthcare decisions, provide high-quality, 
        essential healthcare and play a critical role in ensuring people are 
        able to make decisions about their bodies and lives with dignity, 
        empathy, compassion, and respect;
Whereas no one should be criminalized for providing essential healthcare;
Whereas no one should be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes, for using 
        contraception, or for obtaining gender-affirming care;
Whereas States and localities have attempted to prohibit healthcare providers 
        from providing gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare, including 
        abortion care, to patients;
Whereas people have been prosecuted in the United States for their actions 
        during pregnancy that allegedly caused harm or risk to their 
        pregnancies;
Whereas people have been forced to undergo unwanted medical procedures or 
        surgical interventions, including involuntary sterilization and cesarean 
        sections, prosecuted for not seeking healthcare, prosecuted for 
        experiencing a miscarriage or stillbirth, criminalized for alcohol and 
        drug use during pregnancy, and prosecuted for self-managing an abortion;
Whereas groups like the American Medical Association, American Public Health 
        Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Society of 
        Addiction Medicine, the American College of Obstetricians and 
        Gynecologists, the American Bar Association, and others oppose the 
        criminalization of healthcare provision and the criminalization of 
        pregnancy outcomes;
Whereas the threat of criminalization or prosecution can result in negative 
        outcomes by intimidating people from seeking or providing care;
Whereas abortion and gender-affirming care have become increasingly restricted 
        in the United States;
Whereas research shows there is an increased need and demand for pills to self-
        manage an abortion in States with abortion restrictions, and that self-
        managed abortion with access to medications and accurate information is 
        safe;
Whereas the reasons why people self-manage an abortion are varied and valid;
Whereas healthcare providers have an ethical obligation to provide essential 
        care to their patients and to protect the private medical information 
        integral to the patient-provider relationship;
Whereas even when charges are dropped or the defendant is exonerated, the 
        turmoil caused by arrest or prosecution is irreparable;
Whereas several States have taken steps to repeal or reform laws that had been 
        used to criminalize pregnancy outcomes and to increase access to 
        abortion, contraception, and gender-affirming care;
Whereas Black, indigenous, and people of color, people with low incomes, LGBTQ+ 
        individuals, and other marginalized individuals are disproportionately 
        likely to be surveilled, arrested, charged, prosecuted, convicted, and 
        heavily punished within the criminal justice system;
Whereas Black, indigenous, and people of color, people with low incomes, LGBTQ+ 
        individuals, and other marginalized individuals are more likely, due to 
        persistent disparities, to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes that 
        place them under the scrutiny of the legal system; and
Whereas punishing people for their pregnancy outcomes or for providing essential 
        reproductive and sexual healthcare violates their fundamental rights: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the misapplication of criminal laws to punish 
        people for the outcomes of their pregnancies;
            (2) affirms that people deserve access to high-quality 
        healthcare without fear of reprisal or punishment;
            (3) condemns the criminalization of providing essential 
        healthcare;
            (4) affirms the ethical obligations of healthcare providers 
        to safeguard patient privacy; and
            (5)(A) declares a vision for a future where access to 
        abortion, contraception, and gender-affirming care is free from 
        restrictions and bans universally, and people are able to 
        manage care on their own terms, free from discrimination or 
        punishment; and
            (B) affirms the commitment of the Senate to working toward 
        this goal in partnership with providers, patients, advocates, 
        and their communities.
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