Women’s Public Health and Safety Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8353 To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to allow for greater State flexibility with respect to excluding providers who are involved in abortions. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 Mr. CLOUD (for himself, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. BUDD, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. FLO- RES, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. YOHO, Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. BANKS, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. GALLAGHER, Mr. GIANFORTE, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. WRIGHT, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, Mr. HAGEDORN, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. SPANO, Mr. COLE, Mr. KEVIN HERN of Oklahoma, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. GUEST, Mr. EMMER, Mr. OLSON, Mr. CARTER of Geor- gia, Mr. LATTA, and Mr. LUETKEMEYER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to allow for greater State flexibility with respect to excluding providers who are involved in abortions. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8353.IH H8353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8353 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women’s Public 2 Health and Safety Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. INCREASING STATE FLEXIBILITY IN DETERMINING 4 PARTICIPATION OF PROVIDERS WHO PER- 5 FORM, OR PARTICIPATE IN THE PERFORM- 6 ANCE OF, ABORTIONS. 7 Section 1902 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 8 1396a) is amended— 9 (1) in subsection (a)(23), by striking ‘‘sub- 10 section (g)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (g), sub- 11 section (tt),’’; and 12 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub- 13 section: 14 ‘‘(tt) RULES WITH RESPECT TO DETERMINATION OF 15 PARTICIPATION OF PROVIDERS WHO PERFORM, OR PAR- 16 TICIPATE IN THE PERFORMANCE OF, ABORTIONS.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 18 for purposes of this title, a State, at its option, may 19 establish criteria with respect to the participation 20 under the State plan (or a waiver of such plan) of 21 an institution, an agency, an entity, or a person who 22 performs, or participates in the performance of, 23 abortions. 24 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 25 apply to an abortion— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8353.IH H8353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8353 IH ‘‘(A) if the pregnancy is the result of an 1 act of rape or incest; or 2 ‘‘(B) in the case where a woman suffers 3 from a physical disorder, physical injury, or 4 physical illness that would, as certified by a 5 physician, place the woman in danger of death 6 unless an abortion is performed, including a 7 life-endangering physical condition caused by or 8 arising from the pregnancy itself. 9 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub- 10 section, the terms ‘institution’, ‘agency’, or ‘entity’ 11 mean the entire legal institution, agency, or entity, 12 or any part thereof, including any institution, agen- 13 cy, or entity that controls, is controlled by, or is 14 under common control with such institution, agency, 15 or entity.’’. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Oct 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8353.IH H8353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS