[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 90 (Thursday, May 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3888-S3889]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 703--DESIGNATING A DAY IN MAY 2024, AS ``DISABILITY 
                       REPRODUCTIVE EQUITY DAY''

  Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Welch, Mr. 
Markey, Ms. Smith, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Stabenow, 
Mr. Casey, and Mr. Booker) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 703

       Whereas, in the United States, there are approximately 1 in 
     4 adults with disabilities, 1 in 10 people with disabilities 
     who are able to become pregnant, and approximately 4,100,000 
     parents with disabilities;
       Whereas this country has witnessed a long history of 
     reproductive coercion impacting people with disabilities, 
     including through the discriminatory Supreme Court decision 
     Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927), which upheld State laws 
     authorizing involuntary sterilization of people with 
     disabilities and which has never been overturned;

[[Page S3889]]

       Whereas 31 States and Washington, D.C. currently have laws 
     explicitly allowing the forced sterilization of people with 
     disabilities;
       Whereas people with intellectual and developmental 
     disabilities living in congregate care facilities are at an 
     increased risk of physical and sexual abuse, and the majority 
     of these abuses go unreported;
       Whereas women with disabilities are almost twice as likely 
     as women without disabilities to experience sexual violence 
     in their lifetime;
       Whereas people with disabilities face unique barriers when 
     accessing reproductive health care and exercising their 
     reproductive and sexual health, autonomy, and freedom, 
     including--
       (1) harmful stereotypes about, and attitudes towards, 
     people with disabilities;
       (2) legal barriers and lack of consent due to guardianship;
       (3) financial barriers;
       (4) language and communication barriers;
       (5) delays in receiving preventative services;
       (6) a lack of accessible health care facilities, medical 
     diagnostic equipment, and travel; and
       (7) a lack of health care providers with training on, and 
     knowledge of, the needs of people with disabilities receiving 
     reproductive health care;

       Whereas people with and without disabilities want children 
     at the same frequency, but people with disabilities are less 
     likely to receive contraception counseling and timely 
     prenatal care, experience a higher rate of sterilization, and 
     are at a greater risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes;
       Whereas an ongoing legacy of reproductive oppression of 
     people with disabilities, especially women with disabilities, 
     people of color with disabilities, people with disabilities 
     with low incomes, and LGBTQI+ people with disabilities, has 
     deprived many of their reproductive autonomy;
       Whereas nearly 2 years after the Supreme Court overturned 
     Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's 
     Health Organization, 142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022), nearly 3,000,000 
     reproductive-aged women with disabilities live in States that 
     have, or are likely to have, abortion bans;
       Whereas State laws and court decisions in at least 21 
     States have restricted access to reproductive health care, 
     including abortion care, disproportionally harming people who 
     already face barriers to reproductive health care, including 
     people with disabilities;
       Whereas section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
     U.S.C. 794), titles II and III of the Americans with 
     Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 
     12181 et seq.), and section 1557 of the Patient Protection 
     and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18116) prohibit 
     discrimination against people with disabilities and provide 
     them with the right to equitably access and receive health 
     care; and
       Whereas all people, including people with disabilities, 
     have the right to decide if, when, and how to start and raise 
     a family: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates a day in May 2024, as ``Disability 
     Reproductive Equity Day'' to support and bring awareness to 
     the right of people with disabilities to reproductive and 
     sexual health, autonomy, and freedom;
       (2) pledges to advance the right of people with 
     disabilities to reproductive and sexual health, autonomy, and 
     freedom; and
       (3) calls on the President to continue to fulfill the 
     promise of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with 
     Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Patient Protection and 
     Affordable Care Act to support, bolster, and protect the 
     right of people with disabilities to reproductive and sexual 
     health, autonomy, and freedom.

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