HR 3372
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3372
To establish a public education and awareness program relating
to emergency contraception.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 3, 2007
Ms. SLAUGHTER (for herself, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. RYAN of Ohio,
Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. ALLEN, Ms.
BALDWIN, Mr. BERMAN, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. CARSON, Mr. CROWLEY, Mrs. DAVIS of
California, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. FARR, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GRIJALVA,
Ms. HARMAN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LANTOS,
Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs. MALONEY
of New York, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. MCDERMOTT,
Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. OLVER,
Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr.
SHERMAN, Mr. TIERNEY, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WATSON, Mr. WYNN, Mr. KUCINICH,
Ms. SUTTON, Ms. LEE, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. HONDA, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr.
AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. LOEBSACK, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. LINDA
T. SANCHEZ of California, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. WELCH of Vermont, Ms. DELAURO,
Mr. HOLT, and Mr. ISRAEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To establish a public education and awareness program relating
to emergency contraception.
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 `Emergency Contraception Education Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) Each year 3,000,000 pregnancies, or one half of all pregnancies, in
the United States are unintended, and 4 in 10 of these unintended pregnancies
end in abortion.
(2) The Food and Drug Administration has declared emergency contraception
to be safe and effective in preventing unintended pregnancy for women
of reproductive potential and has approved over-the-counter access to
the emergency contraceptive Plan B for adults.
(3) The most commonly used forms of emergency contraception are regimens
of ordinary birth control pills. Taken within 72 hours of unprotected
intercourse or contraceptive failure, emergency contraception can reduce
the risk of pregnancy by as much as 89 percent. Recent medical evidence
confirms that emergency contraception can be effective up to five days
after unprotected intercourse or contraception failure.
(4) Emergency contraception, also known as post-coital contraception,
is a responsible means of preventing pregnancy that works like other hormonal
contraception by delaying ovulation preventing fertilization and may prevent
implantation.
(5) Emergency contraception does not cause abortion and will not affect
an established pregnancy.
(6) Increased usage of emergency contraception could reduce the number
of unintended pregnancies, thereby reducing the need for abortion.
(8) Emergency contraceptive use in the United States remains low, and
one in three women of reproductive age remain unaware of the method.
(9) Although the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends
that doctors routinely discuss emergency contraception with women of reproductive
age during their annual visit, only one in four ob/gyns routinely discuss
emergency contraception with their patients, suggesting the need for greater
provider and patient education.
(10) It is estimated that 25,000 to 32,000 women become pregnant each
year as a result of rape or incest, half of whom choose to terminate their
pregnancy. If used correctly, emergency contraception could help many
of these rape survivors avoid the additional trauma of facing an unintended
pregnancy.
(11) A recent study conducted by Ibis Reproductive Health found that less
than 18 percent of hospitals provide emergency contraception at a woman's
request without restrictions. At nearly 50 percent of hospitals, emergency
contraception is unavailable even in cases of sexual assault.
(12) In light of their safety and efficacy, both the American Medical
Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
have endorsed more widespread availability of emergency contraceptive.
(13) Healthy People 2010, published by the Office of the Surgeon General,
establishes a 10-year national public health goal of increasing the proportion
of health care providers who provide emergency contraception to their
patients.
(14) Public awareness campaigns targeting women and health care providers
will help remove many of the barriers to emergency contraception and will
help bring this important means of pregnancy prevention to women in the
United States.
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION EDUCATION AND INFORMATION PROGRAMS.
(a) Emergency Contraception Public Education Program-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, shall develop and disseminate to the
public information on emergency contraception.
(2) DISSEMINATION- The Secretary may disseminate information under paragraph
(1) directly or through arrangements with nonprofit organizations, consumer
groups, institutions of higher education, clinics, the media, and Federal,
State, and local agencies.
(3) INFORMATION- The information disseminated under paragraph (1) shall
include, at a minimum, a description of emergency contraception and an
explanation of the use, safety, efficacy, and availability of such contraception.
(b) Emergency Contraception Information Program for Health Care Providers-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the
Health Resources and Services Administration and in consultation with
major medical and public health organizations, shall develop and disseminate
to health care providers information on emergency contraception.
(2) INFORMATION- The information disseminated under paragraph (1) shall
include, at a minimum--
(A) information describing the use, safety, efficacy, and availability
of emergency contraception;
(B) a recommendation regarding the use of such contraception in appropriate
cases; and
(C) information explaining how to obtain copies of the information developed
under subsection (a) for distribution to the patients of the providers.
(c) Definitions- For purposes of this section:
(1) EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION- The term `emergency contraception' means
a drug or device (as the terms are defined in section 201 of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)) or a drug regimen that--
(A) is used postcoitally;
(B) prevents pregnancy by preventing ovulation or fertilization of an
egg or may prevent the implantation of an egg in a uterus; and
(C) is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
(2) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER- The term `health care provider' means an individual
who is licensed or certified under State law to provide health care services
and who is operating within the scope of such license. Such term shall
include a pharmacist.
(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION- The term `institution of higher education'
has the same meaning given such term in section 1201(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).
(4) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Health and
Human Services.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of the
fiscal years 2008 through 2012.
END
