[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 846 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 846
To prohibit disinformation in the advertising of abortion services, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 31, 2025
Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Mrs. Sykes, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms.
Adams, Ms. Titus, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Ms. Crockett, Mr.
Swalwell, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Connolly, Ms. DelBene, Ms. Norton, Mr.
Smith of Washington, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mr.
Gottheimer, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Cohen, Ms.
Brownley, Ms. Jacobs, Ms. Balint, Ms. Budzinski, Mr. Casar, Ms.
McClellan, Mrs. Trahan, Ms. Chu, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Goldman of New York,
Ms. Matsui, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mrs.
McIver, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Torres of New York, Mr. Magaziner, Ms.
Pettersen, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr.
Krishnamoorthi, Mrs. Fletcher, Ms. Ansari, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms.
Bynum, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Craig, Ms. Castor of
Florida, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Dexter, Ms. Morrison, and Ms. Lee of
Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
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) After decades of escalating attacks on abortion rights,
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 and permitting decimation of an already
precarious landscape of access to abortion.
(3) The effects were immediate and disastrous. As of
January 2025, abortion is unavailable in 14 States, leaving
17.9 million women, as well as transgender and gender
nonconforming individuals, of reproductive age (ages 15 to 49),
without access to abortion in the home State of such
individuals.
(4) Travel time to an abortion clinic, already burdensome
under Roe, has quadrupled since Dobbs, as scores of clinics in
already underserved areas have been forced to close and more
patients have been forced to travel to other States (with over
170,000 people traveling out of State for care in 2023 alone).
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) These burdens do not fall equally. Since Dobbs and
additional State bans and restrictions on abortion care have
taken effect, data shows that women with low incomes and women
of color have experienced the largest increase in travel times
to abortion clinics. This is particularly burdensome for women
and pregnant people of color in the South, the area of the
country that has seen the highest increases in travel time.
(6) 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.
(7) Unfortunately, rampant misinformation and
disinformation have affected the ability of people to access
needed abortion care. Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) often
disseminate and promote inaccurate information about abortion
and contraception.
(8) CPCs are antiabortion organizations that present
themselves as comprehensive reproductive health care providers
with the intent of shaming, deceiving, or discouraging pregnant
people from having abortions.
(9) 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.
(10) According to 2020 data from JMIR Public Health and
Surveillance, 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.
(11) CPCs routinely engage in a variety of deceptive
tactics, including--
(A) making false claims about reproductive health
care and providers;
(B) disseminating inaccurate, misleading, and
stigmatizing information about the risks of abortion
and contraception; and
(C) using illegitimate or false citations to imply
that deceptive claims are supported by legitimate
medical sources.
(12) 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.
(13) Most CPCs are not Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA)-covered entities, but many
deceptively claim to be compliant with HIPAA in order to
collect sensitive information and mislead pregnant people about
the privacy practices and obligations of CPCs. CPCs have been
found to disclose the health data of pregnant people, including
to law enforcement.
(14) By using these deceptive tactics, CPCs prevent people
from accessing reproductive health care, intentionally delay
access to time-sensitive abortion services, and can subject
people to harmful interactions with law enforcement. The
consequences of these tactics and delays are far greater in the
wake of Dobbs.
(15) CPCs target under-resourced neighborhoods and
communities of color, including Black, Latino, Indigenous,
Asian-American, Pacific Islander, and immigrant communities, by
locating CPCs 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.
(16) People are entitled to honest, accurate, and timely
information when seeking reproductive health care.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON DISINFORMATION RELATING TO ABORTION SERVICES.
(a) 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 misrepresents that the person--
(1) offers or provides contraception or abortion services
(or referrals for such contraception or abortion services); or
(2) employs or offers access to licensed medical personnel.
(b) Rulemaking.--The Commission may promulgate, under section 553
of title 5, United States Code, any regulations the Commission
determines necessary to carry out this section.
(c) Enforcement by Commission.--
(1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of
this section or a regulation promulgated pursuant to 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.
(2) Powers of commission.--Except as otherwise provided in
paragraph (3), the Commission shall enforce this section and
any regulation promulgated pursuant to 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, and any
person who violates this section or a regulation promulgated
pursuant to this section shall be subject to the penalties and
entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the
Federal Trade Commission Act.
(3) 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 and
any regulation promulgated pursuant to this section in the same
manner provided in paragraphs (1) and (2) with respect to
organizations not organized to carry on business for their own
profit or that of their members.
(4) 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 pursuant to 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 pursuant to
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.--
(i) Exclusive authority.--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.
(ii) Relation to attorney general.--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.
(d) Civil Penalty.--In addition to any other penalty as may be
prescribed by law, any person who violates this section or a regulation
promulgated pursuant this section shall be punishable by a civil
penalty for each such violation that shall not exceed the greater of--
(1) $100,000 (to be adjusted annually for inflation based
on the change in the Consumer Price Index); or
(2) 50 percent of the revenue earned by the ultimate parent
entity of a person during the preceding 12-month period.
(e) 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--
(1) any enforcement action by the Commission under this
Act;
(2) the outcome of any such action; and
(3) any regulation promulgated pursuant to this Act.
(f) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit
the authority of the Commission under any other provision of law.
(g) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Abortion services.--The term ``abortion services''
means an abortion or any medical or non-medical service 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.
<all>