[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1231 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1231
To prohibit disinformation in the advertising of abortion services, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 20, 2023
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Ms. Warren, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr.
Sanders, Mr. Welch, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Warner, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Wyden,
Mr. Booker, Mr. Markey, Mrs. Murray, and Ms. Cortez Masto) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit disinformation in the advertising of abortion services, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Antiabortion Disinformation
Act'' or the ``SAD Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Abortion services are an essential component of
reproductive health care.
(2) On June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health
Organization, the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade,
reversing decades of precedent recognizing a constitutional
right to abortion before fetal viability and permitting
decimation of an already precarious landscape of abortion
access.
(3) The effects were immediate and disastrous. As of
January 2023, abortion is unavailable in 14 States, leaving
17.8 million women of reproductive age (ages 15 to 49) and
transgender and gender nonconforming individuals without
abortion access in the home state of such individuals.
(4) Travel time to an abortion clinic, already burdensome
under Roe, has more than tripled since the Dobbs decision, as
scores of clinics in already underserved areas have been forced
to close and more patients have been forced to travel to other
States. As distance to an abortion facility increases, so do
the accompanying burdens of time off from work or school, lost
wages, transportation costs, lodging, child care costs, and
other ancillary costs.
(5) The freedom to decide whether and when to have a child
is key to the ability of an individual to participate fully in
our democracy.
(6) Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are antiabortion
organizations that present themselves as comprehensive
reproductive health care providers with the intent of
discouraging pregnant people from having abortions.
(7) According to the Journal of Medical Internet Research
(JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance, there are more than
2,500 CPCs in the United States, though some antiabortion
groups claim that the number is closer to 4,000.
(8) According to 2020 data from JMIR Public Health and
Surveillance, on average, CPCs outnumber abortion clinics
nationwide by an average of 3 to 1. In some States, this
statistic is higher. For example, The Alliance: State Advocates
for Women's Rights & Gender Equality (The Alliance) found that
in Pennsylvania, CPCs outnumber abortion clinics by 9 to 1. The
Alliance also found that in Minnesota, CPCs outnumber abortion
clinics by 11 to 1.
(9) CPCs routinely engage in a variety of deceptive
tactics, including making false claims about reproductive
health care and providers, disseminating inaccurate,
misleading, and stigmatizing information about the risks of
abortion and contraception, and using illegitimate or false
citations to imply that deceptive claims are supported by
legitimate medical sources.
(10) CPCs typically advertise themselves as providers of
comprehensive health care. However, most CPCs in the United
States do not employ licensed medical personnel or provide
referrals for birth control or abortion care.
(11) By using these deceptive tactics, CPCs prevent people
from accessing reproductive health care and intentionally delay
access to time-sensitive abortion services. The harm of these
delays is far greater in the wake of the Dobbs decision.
(12) CPCs target underresourced neighborhoods and
communities of color, including Black, Latino, Indigenous,
Asian-American, Pacific Islander, and immigrant communities, by
locating their facilities near social services centers and
comprehensive reproductive health care providers. CPCs place
advertisements in these neighborhoods that mislead and draw
people away from nearby providers that offer evidence-based
sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion care.
This exacerbates existing health barriers and delays access to
time-sensitive care.
(13) People are entitled to honest, accurate, and timely
information when seeking reproductive health care.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON DISINFORMATION OF ABORTION SERVICES.
(a) Conduct Prohibited.--
(1) Prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for any person to
engage in deceptive advertising about the reproductive health
services offered by the person, including advertising that
deceptively states that the person--
(A) offers or provides contraception or abortion
services (or referrals for such contraception or
abortion services); or
(B) employs or offers access to licensed medical
personnel.
(2) Rulemaking.--The Commission may promulgate regulations
under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to implement
this section.
(3) Enforcement by the commission.--A violation of this
section or a regulation promulgated under this section shall be
treated as a violation of a regulation under section
18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C.
57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (4) to (6), the
Commission shall enforce this section and the regulations
promulgated under this section in the same manner, by the same
means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as
though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade
Commission Act were incorporated into and made a part of this
section. Any person who violates this section or a regulation
promulgated under this section shall be subject to the
penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities
provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et
seq.).
(4) Nonprofit organizations.--Notwithstanding section 4,
5(a)(2), or 6 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C.
44, 45(a)(2), 46) or any jurisdictional limitation of the
Commission, the Commission shall also enforce this section or a
regulation promulgated under this section, in the same manner
provided in paragraphs (1) and (3), with respect to
organizations not organized to carry on business for their own
profit or that of their members.
(5) Civil penalty.--In addition to any other penalty as may
be prescribed by law, any person who violates this section or a
regulation promulgated under this section shall be punishable
by a civil penalty that shall not exceed the greater of--
(A) $100,000; or
(B) 50 percent of the revenues earned by the
ultimate parent entity of a person during the preceding
12-month period.
(6) Independent litigation authority.--
(A) Civil action by commission.--If the Commission
has reason to believe that a person has violated this
section or a regulation promulgated under this section,
the Commission may bring a civil action in any
appropriate United States district court for any of the
following remedies:
(i) To enjoin any further such violation by
such person.
(ii) To enforce compliance with this
section or a regulation promulgated under this
section.
(iii) To obtain a permanent, temporary, or
preliminary injunction.
(iv) To obtain civil penalties.
(v) To obtain damages, restitution, or
other compensation on behalf of aggrieved
consumers.
(vi) To obtain any other appropriate
equitable relief.
(B) Exclusive authority of commission.--Except as
otherwise provided in section 16(a)(3) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 56(a)(3)), the
Commission shall have exclusive authority to commence
or defend, and supervise the litigation of, any civil
action under this section and any appeal of such
action, in its own name by any of its attorneys,
designated by it for such purpose, unless the
Commission authorizes the Attorney General to do so.
The Commission shall inform the Attorney General of the
exercise of such authority, and such exercise shall not
preclude the Attorney General from intervening on
behalf of the United States in such action and any
appeal of such action as may be otherwise provided by
law.
(b) Reports.--Beginning 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Commission shall submit to
Congress a report that includes, with respect to the previous year, a
description of any enforcement action by the Commission under this Act,
any regulation promulgated under this Act, and the outcomes of such
actions.
(c) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit
the authority of the Commission under any other provision of law.
(d) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Abortion services.--The term ``abortion services''
means an abortion or any medical or non-medical services
related to or provided in conjunction with an abortion, whether
or not provided at the same time or on the same day as the
abortion.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(3) Person.--The term ``person'' has the meaning given that
term in section 551(2) of title 5, United States Code.
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