[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1952 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1952

  To protect women's reproductive health and constitutional right to 
                                choice.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 1995

 Mrs. Schroeder (for herself, Mrs. Lowey, Ms. Jackson-Lee, Ms. Rivers, 
 Mrs. Kennelly, Ms. DeLauro, Miss Collins of Michigan, Mrs. Collins of 
    Illinois, Ms. Furse, Ms. Harman, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Maloney, Ms. 
     Slaughter, Ms. McKinney, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Ms. Pelosi, Ms. 
 Velazquez, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Baldacci, 
 Mr. Beilenson, Mr. Bentsen, Mr. Berman, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Coleman, Mr. 
Conyers, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Dellums, Mr. Deutsch, Mr. Evans, Mr. Filner, 
 Mr. Farr, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Gejdenson, Mr. Hastings of 
 Florida, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Horn, Mr. Johnston of Florida, Mr. Matsui, 
   Mr. Meehan, Mr. Miller of California, Mr. Mineta, Mr. Nadler, Mr. 
  Olver, Mr. Reed, Mr. Rush, Mr. Sabo, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Serrano, Mr. 
Schumer, Mr. Shays, Mr. Stark, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Ward, Mr. Yates, and Ms. 
   Lofgren) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
    Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To protect women's reproductive health and constitutional right to 
                                choice.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Women's Choice and Reproductive 
Health Protection Act of 1995''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) reproductive rights are central to women's ability to 
        exercise full enjoyment of rights secured to them by Federal 
        and State law;
            (2) abortion has been a legal and constitutionally 
        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 American Medical Association, the American College of 
        Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Medical 
        Women's Association;
            (3) the availability of abortion services is diminishing 
        throughout the United States: 84 percent of counties have no 
        abortion provider and between 1982 and 1992 the number of 
        providers decreased in 45 States; and
            (4) at a minimum, Congress must retain the following 
        policies, which currently preserve women's choice and 
        reproductive health:
                    (A) Funding for abortion services for victims of 
                rape and incest.
                    (B) Protection from clinic violence.
                    (C) The implementation of breast cancer, cervical 
                cancer and chlamydia screening programs in all 50 
                States.
                    (D) Full implementation of legislation to establish 
                contraceptive and infertility research programs.
                    (E) Authorization of family planning programs.
                    (F) The prohibition of a ``gag'' rule on 
                information pertaining to reproductive medical 
                services.
                    (G) The evaluation of RU-486.
                    (H) The fundamental right to choose, as stated by 
                the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade.
                    (I) Fairness in insurance.
                    (J) The ability of military personnel overseas to 
                purchase abortion services at military facilities with 
                private funds.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH 
              ISSUES.

    (a) Rape and Incest Victim Protection.--It is the sense of Congress 
that the current provisions requiring funding of abortion services in 
cases of life endangerment, rape or incest for women eligible for 
medical assistance are essential to their health and well-being and 
therefore Federal and State governments must provide funding in these 
cases.
    (b) 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 Federal 
        resources to combat the nationwide campaign of violence and 
        harassment against reproductive health centers.
    (c) Preventive Health Measures Regarding Breast and Cervical 
Cancer.--It is the sense of the Congress that the program of grants 
under title XV of the Public Health Service Act should receive a level 
of funding that is adequate for all States to receive grants under such 
title.
    (d) Programs Regarding Contraception and Infertility.--
            (1) Research centers.--It is the sense of the Congress that 
        the program of research centers under section 452A of the 
        Public Health Service Act should receive a level of funding 
        that is adequate for a reasonable number of research centers to 
        be operated under the program.
            (2) Loan repayment program regarding conduct of research.--
        It is the sense of the Congress that the program of loan-
        repayment contracts under section 487B of the Public Health 
        Service Act should receive a level of funding that is adequate 
        for a reasonable number of individuals to conduct research 
        under the program.
            (3) Screenings for infertility-related sexually transmitted 
        diseases.--It is the sense of the Congress that the program of 
        grants under section 318A of the Public Health Service Act 
        should receive a level of funding that is adequate for 
        screenings under such section to be available in all States.

SEC. 4. 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 grants and contracts under this section, 
there are authorized to be appropriated $220,000,000 for fiscal year 
1996, $250,000,000 for fiscal year 1997, and such sums as may be 
necessary for each of the fiscal years 1998 through 2000.''.

SEC. 5. FREEDOM OF FULL DISCLOSURE.

    Title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``Sec. 1107. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
governmental authority shall, in or through any program or activity 
that provides health care services or information, administered or 
assisted by such authority, limit the right of any person to provide, 
or the right of any person to receive, nonfraudulent information about 
the availability of reproductive health care services, including family 
planning, prenatal care, adoption, and abortion services.
    ``(b) As used in this section the term `governmental authority' 
means any authority of the United States.''.

SEC. 6. FAIRNESS IN EVALUATION OF RU-486.

    The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall--
            (1) assure that the Food and Drug Administration evaluates 
        the drug called Mifepristone or RU-486 only on the basis 
        provided by 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 this drug or other 
        antiprogestins.

SEC. 7. FREEDOM OF CHOICE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade 
        established constitutionally based limits on the power of 
        States to restrict the right of a woman to choose to terminate 
        a pregnancy. Under the strict scrutiny standard enunciated in 
        Roe v. Wade, States were required to demonstrate that laws 
        restricting the right of a woman to choose to terminate a 
        pregnancy were the least restrictive means available to achieve 
        a compelling State interest. Since 1989, the Supreme Court has 
        no longer applied the strict scrutiny standard in reviewing 
        challenges to the constitutionality of State laws restricting 
        such rights.
            (2) As a result of the Supreme Court's recent modification 
        of the strict scrutiny standard enunciated in Roe v. Wade, 
        certain States have restricted the right of women to choose to 
        terminate a pregnancy or to utilize some forms of 
        contraception, and these restrictions operate cumulatively to--
                    (A)(i) increase the number of illegal or medically 
                less safe abortions, often resulting in physical 
                impairment, loss of reproductive capacity or death to 
                the women involved;
                    (ii) burden interstate commerce by forcing women to 
                travel from States in which legal barriers render 
                contraception or abortion unavailable or unsafe to 
                other States or foreign nations;
                    (iii) interfere with freedom of travel between and 
                among the various States;
                    (iv) burden the medical and economic resources 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 contraceptive 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 minorities; and
                    (D) infringe upon women's ability to exercise full 
                enjoyment of rights secured to them by Federal and 
                State law, both statutory and constitutional.
            (3) Although Congress may not by legislation create 
        constitutional rights, it may, where authorized by its 
        enumerated powers and not prohibited by a constitutional 
        provision, enact legislation to create and secure statutory 
        rights in areas of legitimate national concern.
            (4) Congress has the affirmative power both under section 8 
        of article I of the Constitution of the United States and under 
        section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution to 
        enact legislation to prohibit State interference with 
        interstate commerce, liberty or equal protection of the laws.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to establish, as a 
statutory matter, limitations upon the power of States to restrict the 
freedom of a woman to terminate a pregnancy in order to achieve the 
same limitations as provided, as a constitutional matter, under the 
strict scrutiny standard of review enunciated in Roe v. Wade and 
applied in subsequent cases from 1973 to 1988.
    (c) In General.--A State--
            (1) may not restrict the freedom of a woman to choose 
        whether or not to terminate a pregnancy before 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 necessary to preserve the life or health 
        of the woman; and
            (3) may impose requirements on the performance of abortion 
        procedures if such requirements are medically necessary to 
        protect the health of women undergoing such procedures.
    (d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``State'' 
includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 
each other territory or possession of the United States.

SEC. 8. FAIRNESS IN INSURANCE.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law no Federal law shall be 
construed to prohibit a provider of health insurance from offering 
coverage for the full range of reproductive health care, including 
abortion services.
SEC. 9. ABORTIONS IN FACILITIES OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES NOT 
              PROHIBITED IF NOT FEDERALLY FUNDED.

    Section 1093 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a) Limitation.--'' before ``Funds''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Abortions in Facilities Overseas.--Subsection (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 uniformed services and their dependents 
        in such facility.''.
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