Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1581 To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include in the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices a section on reproductive rights, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 7, 2019 Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts (for herself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. BASS, Mr. BERA, Mr. BEYER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CASE, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COOPER, Mr. COX of California, Mrs. CRAIG, Mr. CROW, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. DEAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. DIN- GELL, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. FRANKEL, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HECK, Ms. HILL of Cali- fornia, Mr. HIMES, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIND, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PETERS, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. ROY- BAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCHNEI- DER, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. SHALALA, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SOTO, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1581.IH H1581 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1581 IH WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, and Ms. WILD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include in the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Prac- tices a section on reproductive rights, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reproductive Rights 4 are Human Rights Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The United States has joined the inter- 8 national community in identifying reproductive 9 rights as human rights, including in connection with 10 the 1994 International Conference on Population 11 and Development, the 1995 Beijing World Con- 12 ference on Women, and through its ratification of 13 the International Covenant on Civil and Political 14 Rights (ICCPR). 15 (2) General comment No. 36 (2018) on article 16 6 of the ICCPR, which was adopted by the Human 17 Rights Committee at its October to November 2018 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1581.IH H1581 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1581 IH session, states that under Article 6 of the ICCPR, 1 State parties have a duty to ensure that all persons 2 have the right to receive— 3 (A) evidence-based information and edu- 4 cation about sexual and reproductive health, 5 and access to a range of affordable contracep- 6 tive methods; 7 (B) safe, legal, and effective access to 8 abortion where the life and health of the preg- 9 nant woman or girl is at risk, or where carrying 10 a pregnancy to term would cause the pregnant 11 woman or girl substantial pain or suffering, no- 12 tably where pregnancy is the result of rape or 13 incest or is not viable; and, access to quality 14 prenatal and post-abortion health care; and 15 (C) access by women and girls to safe 16 abortion without the imposition of restrictions, 17 which subject them to physical or mental pain 18 or suffering, or which discriminate or arbi- 19 trarily interfere with their privacy, or place 20 them at risk of undertaking unsafe abortions. 21 (3) The Department of State’s deletion of the 22 reproductive rights subsection from its 2017 Coun- 23 try Reports on Human Rights Practices dem- 24 onstrates an alarming level of politicization of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1581.IH H1581 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1581 IH human rights by the Trump Administration and un- 1 dermines the human rights of women around the 2 world. 3 (4) When women’s reproductive rights are lim- 4 ited, so are their pathways to economic, social, and 5 political empowerment. 6 (5) Sexual health and reproductive rights are 7 essential for sustainable economic development, are 8 intrinsically linked to gender equality and women’s 9 well-being, and are critical to maternal, newborn, 10 child, adolescent, family, and community health. 11 SEC. 3. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 12 PRACTICES. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Foreign Assistance Act of 14 1961 is amended— 15 (1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d))— 16 (A) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking 17 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 18 (B) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking 19 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 20 and 21 (C) by adding at the end the following new 22 paragraph: 23 ‘‘(13) the status of reproductive rights in each 24 country, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1581.IH H1581 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1581 IH ‘‘(A) whether such country has adopted 1 and enforced policies to— 2 ‘‘(i) promote access to and prevalence 3 of, safe, effective, and affordable methods 4 of contraception and comprehensive and 5 accurate family planning information; 6 ‘‘(ii) promote access to appropriate 7 health care services to prevent maternal 8 deaths and ensure safe and healthy preg- 9 nancy and childbirth; 10 ‘‘(iii) expand or restrict access to safe 11 abortion services, including post-abortion 12 care, in accordance with the country’s 13 laws; and 14 ‘‘(iv) promote the prevention, detec- 15 tion, and treatment of sexually transmitted 16 infections, including HIV, and of reproduc- 17 tive tract infections and of reproductive 18 cancers; 19 ‘‘(B) a description of the rates and causes 20 of maternal deaths in such country, including 21 deaths due to unsafe abortions, where applica- 22 ble; 23 ‘‘(C) a description of the nature and extent 24 of instances of discrimination, coercion, and vio- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1581.IH H1581 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1581 IH lence against women and girls in health care 1 settings in such country, and the actions, if 2 any, taken by the government of such country 3 to respond to such discrimination, coercion, and 4 violence, where applicable; and 5 ‘‘(D) wherever applicable, a description of 6 the proportion of women of reproductive age 7 (aged 15–49 years) who have their need for 8 family planning satisfied with modern methods 9 of family planning, the barriers to access, and 10 the nature and extent of instances of denial of 11 comprehensive and accurate family planning in- 12 formation and services in such country, and the 13 actions, if any, taken by the government of such 14 country to respond to such denials.’’; and 15 (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)— 16 (A) by redesignating the second subsection 17 (i) (relating to child marriage status) as sub- 18 section (j); and 19 (B) by adding at the end the following new 20 subsection: 21 ‘‘(k) The report required under subsection (b) shall 22 include the status of reproductive rights in each country, 23 including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1581.IH H1581 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1581 IH ‘‘(1) whether such country has adopted and en- 1 forced policies to— 2 ‘‘(A) promote access to and prevalence of 3 safe, effective, and affordable methods of con- 4 traception and comprehensive and accurate 5 family planning information; 6 ‘‘(B) promote access to appropriate health 7 care services to prevent maternal deaths and 8 ensure safe and healthy pregnancy and child- 9 birth; 10 ‘‘(C) expand or restrict access to safe abor- 11 tion services, including post-abortion care, in 12 accordance with the country’s laws; and 13 ‘‘(D) promote the prevention, detection, 14 and treatment of sexually transmitted infec- 15 tions, including HIV, and of reproductive tract 16 infections and of reproductive cancers; 17 ‘‘(2) a description of the rates and causes of 18 maternal deaths in such country, including deaths 19 due to unsafe abortions, where applicable; 20 ‘‘(3) a description of the nature and extent of 21 discrimination, coercion, and violence against women 22 and girls in health care settings in such country, and 23 the actions, if any, taken by the government of such 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1581.IH H1581 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1581 IH country to respond to such discrimination, coercion, 1 and violence, where applicable; and 2 ‘‘(4) wherever applicable, a description of the 3 proportion of women of reproductive age (aged 15– 4 49 years) who have their need for family planning 5 satisfied with modern methods of family planning, 6 the barriers to access, and the nature and extent of 7 instances of denial of comprehensive and accurate 8 family planning information and services in such 9 country, and the actions, if any, taken by the gov- 10 ernment of such country to respond to such deni- 11 als.’’. 12 (b) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In preparing the 13 Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices re- 14 quired under sections 116(d) and 502B of the Foreign As- 15 sistance Act of 1961 (as amended by subsection (a)), the 16 Secretary of State, the Assistant Secretary of State for 17 Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and other relevant 18 officials, including human rights officers at United States 19 diplomatic and consular posts, shall consult with— 20 (1) representatives of United States civil society 21 and multilateral organizations with demonstrated ex- 22 perience and expertise in sexual and reproductive 23 health and rights or promoting women and girls’ 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1581.IH H1581 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1581 IH human rights, including local civil society organiza- 1 tions whenever possible; and 2 (2) relevant, local, non-governmental organiza- 3 tions in all countries included in such Reports, in- 4 cluding women and girls’ organizations focused on 5 sexual and reproductive health and rights. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1581.IH H1581 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS