[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 707 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 707

 To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include in the Annual 
  Country Reports on Human Rights Practices a section on reproductive 
                    rights, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 7, 2019

 Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Cardin, 
  Ms. Hassan, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Warren, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Markey, Ms. 
Baldwin, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Leahy, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Merkley, Ms. Smith, Mr. Brown, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Reed, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
Durbin, Ms. Harris, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Duckworth, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Booker, 
    Mr. Murphy, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Stabenow, and Mr. Schatz) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include in the Annual 
  Country Reports on Human Rights Practices a section on reproductive 
                    rights, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Reproductive Rights are Human Rights 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States has joined the international 
        community in identifying reproductive rights as human rights, 
        including in connection with the 1994 International Conference 
        on Population and Development, the 1995 Beijing World 
        Conference on Women, and through its ratification of the 
        International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
            (2) General comment No. 36 (2018) on article 6 of the 
        ICCPR, which was adopted by the Human Rights Committee at its 
        October to November 2018 session, states that under Article 6 
        of the ICCPR, State parties have a duty to ensure that all 
        persons have the right to receive--
                    (A) evidence-based information and education about 
                sexual and reproductive health, and access to a range 
                of affordable contraceptive methods;
                    (B) 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 
                suffering, notably where pregnancy is the result of 
                rape or incest or is not viable; and, access to quality 
                prenatal and post-abortion health care; and
                    (C) access by women and girls to safe abortion 
                without the imposition of restrictions, which subject 
                them to physical or mental pain or suffering, or which 
                discriminate or arbitrarily interfere with their 
                privacy, or place them at risk of undertaking unsafe 
                abortions.
            (3) The Department of State's deletion of the reproductive 
        rights subsection from its 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights 
        Practices demonstrates an alarming level of politicization of 
        human rights by the Trump Administration and undermines the 
        human rights of women around the world.
            (4) When women's reproductive rights are limited, so are 
        their pathways to economic, social, and political empowerment.
            (5) Sexual health and reproductive rights are essential for 
        sustainable economic development, are intrinsically linked to 
        gender equality and women's well-being, and are critical to 
        maternal, newborn, child, adolescent, family, and community 
        health.

SEC. 3. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.

    (a) In General.--The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended--
            (1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d))--
                    (A) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking ``and'' at 
                the end;
                    (B) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking the 
                period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(13) the status of reproductive rights in each country, 
        including--
                    ``(A) whether such country has adopted and enforced 
                policies to--
                            ``(i) promote access to and prevalence of, 
                        safe, effective, and affordable methods of 
                        contraception and comprehensive and accurate 
                        family planning information;
                            ``(ii) promote access to appropriate health 
                        care services to prevent maternal deaths and 
                        ensure safe and healthy pregnancy and 
                        childbirth;
                            ``(iii) expand or restrict access to safe 
                        abortion services, including post-abortion 
                        care, in accordance with the country's laws; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) promote the prevention, detection, 
                        and treatment of sexually transmitted 
                        infections, including HIV, and of reproductive 
                        tract infections and of reproductive cancers;
                    ``(B) a description of the rates and causes of 
                maternal deaths in such country, including deaths due 
                to unsafe abortions, where applicable;
                    ``(C) a description of the nature and extent of 
                instances of discrimination, coercion, and violence 
                against women and girls in health care settings in such 
                country, and the actions, if any, taken by the 
                government of such country to respond to such 
                discrimination, coercion, and violence, where 
                applicable; and
                    ``(D) wherever applicable, a description of the 
                proportion of women of reproductive age (aged 15-49 
                years) who have their need for family planning 
                satisfied with modern methods, the barriers to access, 
                and the nature and extent of instances of denial of 
                comprehensive and accurate family planning information 
                and services in such country, and the actions, if any, 
                taken by the government of such country to respond to 
                such denials.''; and
            (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)--
                    (A) by redesignating the second subsection (i) 
                (relating to child marriage status) as subsection (j); 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsection:
    ``(k) The report required under subsection (b) shall include the 
status of reproductive rights in each country, including--
            ``(1) whether such country has adopted and enforced 
        policies to--
                    ``(A) promote access to and prevalence of safe, 
                effective, and affordable methods of contraception and 
                comprehensive and accurate family planning information;
                    ``(B) promote access to appropriate health care 
                services to prevent maternal deaths and ensure safe and 
                healthy pregnancy and childbirth;
                    ``(C) expand or restrict access to safe abortion 
                services, including post-abortion care, in accordance 
                with the country's laws; and
                    ``(D) promote the prevention, detection, and 
                treatment of sexually transmitted infections, including 
                HIV, and of reproductive tract infections and of 
                reproductive cancers;
            ``(2) a description of the rates and causes of maternal 
        deaths in such country, including deaths due to unsafe 
        abortions, where applicable;
            ``(3) a description of the nature and extent of 
        discrimination, coercion, and violence against women and girls 
        in health care settings in such country, and the actions, if 
        any, taken by the government of such country to respond to such 
        discrimination, coercion, and violence, where applicable; and
            ``(4) wherever applicable, a description of the proportion 
        of women of reproductive age (aged 15-49 years) who have their 
        need for family planning satisfied with modern methods, the 
        barriers to access, and the nature and extent of instances of 
        denial of comprehensive and accurate family planning 
        information and services in such country, and the actions, if 
        any, taken by the government of such country to respond to such 
        denials.''.
    (b) Consultation Required.--In preparing the Annual Country Reports 
on Human Rights Practices required under sections 116(d) and 502B of 
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as amended by subsection (a)), the 
Secretary of State, the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, 
Human Rights, and Labor, and other relevant officials, including human 
rights officers at United States diplomatic and consular posts, shall 
consult with--
            (1) representatives of United States civil society and 
        multilateral organizations with demonstrated experience and 
        expertise in sexual and reproductive health and rights or 
        promoting women and girls' human rights, including local civil 
        society organizations whenever possible; and
            (2) relevant, local, non-governmental organizations in all 
        countries included in such Reports, including women and girls' 
        organizations focused on sexual and reproductive health and 
        rights.
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