[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 561 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 561
Expressing opposition to the use of State power against people in the
United States seeking essential health care, including criminalization
of the full range of sexual and reproductive health care such as
abortion, gender-affirming care, and contraceptive care, and
disapproving of State punishment of people for their pregnancy
outcomes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 27, 2023
Ms. Williams of Georgia (for herself, Ms. Adams, Ms. DeGette, Ms.
Escobar, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms. Jacobs,
Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mrs. McBath,
Mr. Doggett, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Connolly, Ms. Norton, Mr. Moulton, Mr.
Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Morelle, Ms. Clarke of
New York, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Higgins of New York, Ms. Wasserman Schultz,
Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Sewell, Mrs. McClellan, Mr. Bowman, Ms.
Tlaib, Ms. Titus, Mr. Peters, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Frost, Mr. Quigley, Ms.
Tokuda, Mr. Trone, Ms. Stevens, Ms. Meng, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms.
Matsui, Mr. Veasey, Mr. Torres of New York, Ms. Brown, Ms. Barragan,
Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Schiff, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms.
Strickland, Ms. Bush, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Casar, Ms. Kelly of
Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Ruppersberger,
Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Casten, Mr. Mfume, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Takano,
Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. McGarvey, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Larson of
Connecticut, Ms. Porter, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Jackson Lee,
Ms. Wilson of Florida, and Mr. McGovern) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce,
and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing opposition to the use of State power against people in the
United States seeking essential health care, including criminalization
of the full range of sexual and reproductive health care such as
abortion, gender-affirming care, and contraceptive care, and
disapproving of State punishment of people for their pregnancy
outcomes.
Whereas most people will need access to sexual and reproductive health care at
some point in their lifetimes, whether it be abortion, contraception, or
gender-affirming care;
Whereas the ability of people to access and make decisions about the full range
of sexual and reproductive health care is essential to the health, well-
being, and autonomy of all people and to the health and well-being of
society;
Whereas providers of sexual, reproductive, and gender-affirming health care, and
those who support people making important health care decisions, are
essential and play a critical role in ensuring people are able to have
control over their own bodies and lives;
Whereas people deserve to be treated with dignity, empathy, compassion, and
respect by their health care providers;
Whereas people need their health care providers to be able to provide or refer
for essential health care without facing punishment or criminal or civil
charges for supporting the autonomous decisions of an individual with
respect to their own body and life;
Whereas no person should face State-sanctioned punishment for--
(1) seeking or obtaining an abortion, or any pregnancy outcome or
decision;
(2) seeking or using contraception;
(3) seeking or obtaining gender-affirming care;
(4) their sexual health status; or
(5) for helping someone access the essential health care they need;
Whereas people have been penalized or prosecuted in the United States for
actions during their pregnancy that the State alleged caused harm or
risk to their pregnancies;
Whereas people have been prosecuted for not seeking health care, for
experiencing a miscarriage or stillbirth, for self-managing an abortion,
for alcohol or drug use during pregnancy, and for their HIV status;
Whereas research shows there is an increased need and demand for medications to
self-manage an abortion in States with abortion restrictions, and that
self-managed abortion with access to medications and accurate
information is safe and effective;
Whereas the reasons why people self-manage an abortion are varied and valid;
Whereas States and localities have attempted to impose civil and criminal
penalties on people who help others access the gender-affirming and
reproductive health care they need, including abortion care;
Whereas at least 1 State has passed a law attempting to restrict some out-of-
State travel for abortions, and other States have attempted to curtail
out-of-State travel for abortion care or the facilitation thereof, in
violation of basic constitutional principles, including the right to
travel;
Whereas people have been and continue to be coerced or forced to undergo
unwanted medical procedures or surgical interventions that negatively
impact their sexual and reproductive health, including involuntary
sterilization, involuntary cesarean sections, and procedures to change
the intersex traits of minors;
Whereas coercive or unwanted medical or surgical interventions that negate
individual autonomy are distinct from gender-affirming care, do not
constitute essential health care or sexual and reproductive health care,
and are not included within the full range of such care that this
resolution describes;
Whereas more than 30 States around the country have advanced legislation
designed to severely limit access to necessary gender-affirming care,
especially for young people, which is against the recommendations of
major medical organizations, including the American Academy of
Pediatrics;
Whereas 3 States have enacted, and nearly 15 have introduced, legislation
designed to criminalize and penalize providing gender-affirming care to
young people, providers of gender-affirming care for young people, and
the parents of those young people for enabling access to this essential
care;
Whereas some States are considering legislation that would use the power of the
State to remove children from the care of their parent if that parent
supports access to gender-affirming care for the child;
Whereas States and localities have prohibited health care providers from
providing, and in some cases have criminalized the provision of, gender-
affirming and reproductive health care, including abortion care, to
patients who are seeking such care whether in person or via telehealth;
Whereas States and localities have attempted to prohibit health care providers
from referring, and in some cases have attempted to criminalize the
referral of, patients to out-of-State resources to receive the gender-
affirming and reproductive health care they seek, including abortion
care;
Whereas States have aimed to restrict the ability of patients to access sexual
and reproductive health care by threatening provider licensure,
certification, or renewal, if even suspected of providing care,
regardless of conviction;
Whereas the threat of criminalization or prosecution can result in a chilling
effect by intimidating people into not seeking or providing needed care;
Whereas health care providers have an ethical obligation to provide essential
health care to their patients and to protect the private medical
information integral to the patient-provider relationship;
Whereas limiting the ability of a health care provider to uphold their ethical
obligations to provide essential health care, including sexual and
reproductive health care, to patients is a violation of their rights and
subjects them to moral injury;
Whereas the State advances no legitimate interest by imposing civil or criminal
penalties on medically appropriate sexual and reproductive health care,
including abortion, contraception, and gender-affirming care, and has no
legitimate interest in criminalizing pregnancy outcomes;
Whereas State laws criminalizing sexual and reproductive health care, including
gender-affirming care and abortion care, sometimes enacted under the
guise of protection, constitute an abuse of the power of the State that
denies individuals their fundamental rights;
Whereas, even when charges are dropped or the defendant is exonerated, the long-
term consequences of arrest or prosecution are irreparable;
Whereas Black, indigenous, people of color, immigrants, people with low incomes,
LGBTQI+ individuals, and other marginalized individuals are more likely,
due to persistent disparities and oppression, to experience adverse
pregnancy outcomes that place them under the scrutiny of the legal
system;
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 State-
sanctioned punishment for pregnancy outcomes and oppose criminalizing
providers and the provision of health care;
Whereas Black, indigenous, people of color, immigrants, people with low incomes,
LGBTQI+ individuals, and other marginalized individuals are more likely
to be surveilled, arrested, charged, prosecuted, convicted, and heavily
punished within the criminal justice system;
Whereas, in the 2022 Abortion Care Guidelines issued by the World Health
Organization, the World Health Organization recommends the full
decriminalization of abortion;
Whereas human rights bodies, including the United Nations Human Rights
Committee, have long said that governments that apply criminal sanctions
against people who have an abortion, or medical providers who assist
people in having an abortion, violate human rights principles and laws;
Whereas human rights bodies have explicitly described criminalization of
abortion and attacks on LGBTQI+ health as a form of gender-based
violence;
Whereas punishing people for their pregnancy outcomes or for seeking or
providing essential reproductive and sexual health care, or supporting
access to such care, violates their fundamental rights; and
Whereas several States have recognized these facts and taken steps--
(1) to repeal or reform laws that had been used to criminalize
pregnancy outcomes; and
(2) to pass laws to increase access to abortion, contraception, and
gender-affirming care: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the application or use of criminal laws to
punish people for the outcomes of their pregnancies;
(2) affirms that people deserve access to high-quality
health care without fear of reprisal or punishment;
(3) condemns the criminalization of providing or supporting
access to essential health care;
(4) affirms the ethical obligations of health care
providers to safeguard patient privacy and the private medical
information integral to the patient-provider relationship; and
(5) declares a goal for a future in which--
(A) the ability of patients to access sexual and
reproductive health care, including abortion,
contraception, and gender-affirming care, is
universally free from restrictions, bans, and barriers;
and
(B) people are able--
(i) to exercise self-determination in their
reproductive and sexual health; and
(ii) manage care on their own terms, free
from coercion, discrimination, or punishment;
and
(6) affirms the commitment of Congress to working toward
the goal established in paragraph (5) in partnership with
providers, patients, advocates, and their communities.
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