[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 758 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 758
To ensure affordable abortion coverage and care for every woman, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 12, 2019
Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Harris, Mrs.
Shaheen, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Smith, Ms.
Rosen, and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure affordable abortion coverage and care for every woman, 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 ``Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in
Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Affordable, comprehensive health insurance that
includes coverage for a full range of pregnancy-related care,
including abortion, is critical to the health of every person
regardless of actual or perceived race, color, national origin,
immigration status, sex (including sexual orientation, gender
identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition relating
to pregnancy or childbirth, or sex stereotyping), age, or
disability status.
(2) Neither a woman's income level nor her type of
insurance should prevent her from having access to a full range
of pregnancy-related care, including abortion services.
(3) No woman should have the decision to have, or not to
have, an abortion made for her based on her ability or
inability to afford the procedure.
(4) Since 1976, the Federal Government has withheld funds
for abortion coverage in most circumstances, affecting women of
reproductive age in the United States who are insured through
the Medicaid program, as well as women who receive insurance or
care through other Federal health plans and programs. Of women
aged 15-44 enrolled in Medicaid in 2017, 55 percent lived in
the 35 States and the District of Columbia that do not cover
abortion, except in limited circumstances. This amounts to
roughly 7.3 million women of reproductive age, including 3.1
million women living below the Federal poverty level. Women of
color are disproportionately likely to be insured by the
Medicaid program: Nationwide, 32 percent of Black women and 27
percent of Hispanic women aged 15-44 were enrolled in Medicaid
in 2017, compared with 16 percent of White women.
(5) Moreover, 26 States also prohibit abortion coverage in
private insurance plans within or beyond health insurance
marketplaces under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act.
(6) Restrictions on abortion coverage interfere with a
woman's personal decision making, with her health and well-
being, and with her constitutionally protected right to a safe
and legal medical procedure.
(7) Restrictions on abortion coverage have a
disproportionate impact on low-income women, women of color,
immigrant women, and young women. These women are already
disadvantaged in their access to the resources, information,
and services necessary to prevent an unintended pregnancy or to
carry a healthy pregnancy to term.
SEC. 3. ABORTION COVERAGE AND CARE REGARDLESS OF INCOME OR SOURCE OF
INSURANCE.
(a) Ensuring Abortion Coverage and Care Through the Federal
Government in Its Role as an Insurer, Employer, or Health Care
Provider.--The Federal Government shall--
(1) ensure coverage for abortion care in public health
insurance programs including Medicaid, Medicare, and the
Children's Health Insurance Program;
(2) in its role as an employer or health plan sponsor,
ensure coverage for abortion care for participants and
beneficiaries; and
(3) in its role as a provider of health services, ensure
abortion care is made available to individuals who are eligible
to receive services in its own facilities or in facilities with
which it contracts to provide medical care.
(b) Prohibiting Restrictions on Private Insurance Coverage of
Abortion Care.--
(1) Federal restrictions.--The Federal Government shall not
prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of
abortion care by State or local government or by private health
plans.
(2) State and local government restrictions.--State and
local governments shall not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise
inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by private health
plans.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the Federal Government, acting in its capacity as an
insurer, employer, or health care provider, should serve as a
model for the Nation to ensure coverage of abortion care; and
(2) moreover, restrictions on coverage of abortion care in
the private insurance market must end.
SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to have any effect on any
Federal, State, or local law that includes more protections for
abortion coverage or care than those set forth in this Act.
SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY.
If any portion of this Act or the application thereof to any person
or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the
portions or applications of this Act which can be given effect without
the invalid portion or application.
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