[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 8, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2867-S2868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 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

  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:

                              S. Res. 664

       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;

[[Page S2868]]

       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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