Findings; sense of Congress

(a)

Findings

Congress makes the following findings:(1)International agreements have recognized reproductive rights for more than 25 years, and the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals reiterated the centrality of reproductive rights to gender equality. (2)Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that when people, including young women and adolescent girls, gender nonconforming individuals, and transgender men, are able to control their reproductive lives, there are enormous social and economic benefits, not just for the individual and their family, but for entire communities. (3)Countries that prioritize reproductive health, rights, and justice and human rights are more likely to have better overall health throughout their countries. (4)Health system cost is reduced when abortion is widely available and integrated with other types of health care. (5)Without access to safe abortion care, people risk their lives to end their pregnancies. At least 24,100 people in low- and middle-income countries die every year from complications from unsafe abortions.(6)Ninety-seven percent of unsafe abortions occur in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In low- and middle-income countries, the annual cost of post-abortion care for all who need is estimated to be $4,000,000,000. The majority of this cost is attributed to treating complications from abortions provided in unsafe conditions. (7)Restricting abortion does not reduce either the need for or number of abortions. Abortion rates are similar in countries where it is highly restricted by law and where it is broadly legal. (8)When abortions are performed in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines and standards, there is minimal risk of severe complications or death.(9)United States law restricting United States foreign assistance funding from being used to provide safe abortion services has the effect of harming people who seek to terminate their pregnancies in several ways, including by blocking access to services and erecting barriers to providers obtaining the training and equipment needed to deliver care to those in need.(10)Since the enactment of section 104(f)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151b(f)(1)) (commonly referred to as the Helms amendment) in 1973, dozens of governments across the globe have liberalized abortion laws and policies.(11)In countries where the United States supports family planning and reproductive health care and in which abortion is legal on, at least some grounds, support for safe abortion could avert more than 19,000,000 unsafe abortions and 17,000 maternal deaths each year.(b)

Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that—(1)abortion is a critical component of sexual and reproductive health care and should be accessible and affordable for all people;(2)all people have the right to make their own choices about their sexual and reproductive health, and to access quality and affordable sexual and reproductive health care; and(3)as part of their commitment to prevent unsafe abortions and preventable deaths and to ensure that all people have access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care and can exercise their right to full control over their sexuality and reproduction, developing countries and donor governments must work collaboratively to deploy funding, align policies, and mobilize expertise to make safe abortion services available to those seeking to terminate pregnancies.