[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 154 (Thursday, August 11, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 49505-49507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-17420]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 154 / Thursday, August 11, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
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Executive Order 14079 of August 3, 2022
Securing Access to Reproductive and Other
Healthcare Services
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. On July 8, 2022, following a
decision by the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade,
410 U.S. 113 (1973), I signed Executive Order 14076
(Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare
Services). As that order recognized, eliminating the
right recognized in Roe has had and will continue to
have devastating implications for women's health and
public health more broadly.
Following that order, the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) has taken critical steps to
address those effects. These steps include clarifying
the obligation of hospitals and providers under the
Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, 42 U.S.C.
1395dd, to provide to patients presenting at an
emergency department with an emergency medical
condition stabilizing care, including an abortion, if
that care is necessary to stabilize their emergency
medical condition, and issuing guidance to the Nation's
retail pharmacies on their obligations under Federal
civil rights laws--including section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 794, and section 1557 of
the Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. 18116--to ensure
equal access to comprehensive reproductive and other
healthcare services, including for women who are
experiencing miscarriages.
However, the continued advancement of restrictive
abortion laws in States across the country has created
legal uncertainty and disparate access to reproductive
healthcare services depending on where a person lives,
putting patients, providers, and third parties at risk
and fueling confusion for hospitals and healthcare
providers, including pharmacies. There have been
numerous reports of women denied health- and life-
saving emergency care, as providers fearful of legal
reprisal delay necessary treatment for patients until
their conditions worsen to dangerous levels. There are
also reports of women of reproductive age being denied
prescription medication at pharmacies--including
medication that is used to treat stomach ulcers, lupus,
arthritis, and cancer--due to concerns that these
medications, some of which can be used in medication
abortions, could be used to terminate a pregnancy.
Reportedly, a healthcare provider, citing a State law
restricting abortion, even temporarily stopped
providing emergency contraception.
As it remains the policy of my Administration to
support women's access to reproductive healthcare
services, including their ability to travel to seek
abortion care in States where it is legal, I am
directing my Administration to take further action to
protect access to reproductive healthcare services and
to address the crisis facing women's health and public
health more broadly.
Sec. 2. Definition. The term ``reproductive healthcare
services'' means medical, surgical, counseling, or
referral services relating to the human reproductive
system, including services relating to pregnancy or the
termination of a pregnancy.
Sec. 3. Advancing the Ability to Obtain Reproductive
Healthcare Services. In furtherance of the policy set
forth in section 1 of this order, the Secretary of HHS
shall consider actions to advance access to
reproductive healthcare
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services, including, to the extent permitted by Federal
law, through Medicaid for patients traveling across
State lines for medical care.
Sec. 4. Promoting Compliance with Non-Discrimination
Law in Obtaining Medical Care. In furtherance of the
policy set forth in section 1 of this order, and to
ensure that individuals are not denied necessary
healthcare on the basis of any ground protected by
Federal law, including current pregnancy, past
pregnancy, potential or intended pregnancy, or other
medical conditions, the Secretary of HHS shall consider
all appropriate actions to advance the prompt
understanding of and compliance with Federal non-
discrimination laws by healthcare providers that
receive Federal financial assistance. Such actions may
include:
(a) providing technical assistance for healthcare
providers that have questions concerning their
obligations under Federal non-discrimination laws;
(b) convening healthcare providers to provide
information on their obligations under Federal non-
discrimination laws and the potential consequences of
non-compliance; and
(c) issuing additional guidance, or taking other
action as appropriate, in response to any complaints or
other reports of non-compliance with Federal non-
discrimination laws.
Sec. 5. Data Collection. The Secretary of HHS shall
evaluate the adequacy of research, data collection, and
data analysis and interpretation efforts at the
National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, and other relevant HHS
components in accurately measuring the effect of access
to reproductive healthcare on maternal health outcomes
and other health outcomes. Following that evaluation,
the Secretary shall take appropriate actions to improve
those efforts.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
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(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
August 3, 2022.
[FR Doc. 2022-17420
Filed 8-10-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P