,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gbh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #ad1 #bjac 
,mrs4 ,carolyn ,b4 ,maloney of ,new     
,york 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,wasserman     
,schultz1 ,mr4 ,conyers1 ,ms4 ,moore1   
,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,ms4 ,lee of           
,california1 ,ms4 ,pingree of ,maine1   
,ms4 ,hahn1 ,mr4 ,farr1 ,mr4 ,rangel1   
,mr4 ,nadler1 ,mr4 ,ellison1 ,ms4       
,de,gette1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,mr4 ,holt1 and 
,mr4 ,peters of ,california7 introduced 
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,energy and        
,commerce  ,a ,,bill  ,to establish     
certain duties for pharmacies to ensure 
provision of ,food and ,drug            
,administration-approved contraception1 
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,access to ,birth ,control ,act4  #b4   
,findings ,congress finds as follows3   
7#a7 ,family planning is basic health   
care for women4 ,access to contraception
 helps women prevent unintended         

pregnancy and control the timing and    
spacing of planned births4  7#b7        
,although the ,centers for ,disease     
,control and ,prevention included family
 planning in its published list of the  
,ten ,great ,public ,health             
,achievements in the #bjth ,century1 the
 ,united ,states still has one of the   
highest rates of unintended pregnancies 
among industrialized nations4  7#c7     
,each year1 #c1jjj1jjj pregnancies1     
nearly half of all pregnancies1 in the  
,united ,states are unintended1 and     
nearly half of unintended pregnancies   
end in abortion4  7#d7 ,women rely on   
prescription contraceptives for a range 
of medical purposes in addition to birth
 control1 such as regulation of cycles  
and endometriosis4  7#e7 ,the ,food and 
,drug ,administration has declared      
emergency contraception to be safe and  
effective in preventing unintended      
pregnancy and has approved              
over-the-counter access to some forms of
 emergency contraception for individuals

 aged #ag and older4  7#f7 ,if taken    
soon after unprotected sex or primary   
contraceptive failure1 emergency        
contraception can significantly reduce a
 woman's chance of unintended pregnancy4
  7#g7 ,emergency contraception is      
approved to prevent pregnancy4 ,it will 
not work if a woman is already pregnant4
  7#h7 ,access to legal contraception is
 a protected fundamental right in the   
,united ,states and should not be       
impeded by one individual's personal    
beliefs4  7#i7 ,reports of pharmacists  
refusing to fill prescriptions for      
contraceptives1 including emergency     
contraceptives1 have surfaced in ,states
 across the ,nation1 including ,alabama1
 ,arizona1 ,california1 the ,district of
 ,columbia1 ,georgia1 ,illinois1        
,louisiana1 ,massachusetts1 ,michigan1  
,minnesota1 ,missouri1 ,montana1 ,new   
,hampshire1 ,new ,york1 ,north          
,carolina1 ,ohio1 ,oklahoma1 ,oregon1   
,rhode ,island1 ,tennessee1 ,texas1     
,washington1 ,west ,virginia1 and       

,wisconsin4 ,since emergency            
contraception became available without a
 prescription for certain individuals1  
refusals to provide non-prescription    
emergency contraception have also been  
reported4  #c4 ,duties of pharmacies to 
ensure provision of ,,fda-approved      
contraception ,part ,b of title ,,ii of 
the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db  
,u4,s4,c4 #bch et seq47 is amended by   
adding at the end the following3  #bdi4 
,duties of pharmacies to ensure         
provision of ,,fda-approved             
contraception  7a7 ,in ,general ,subject
 to subsection 7c71 a pharmacy that     
receives ,food and ,drug                
,administration-approved drugs or       
devices in interstate commerce shall    
maintain compliance with the following3 
7#a7 ,if a customer requests a          
contraceptive that is in stock1 the     
pharmacy shall ensure that the          
contraceptive is provided to the        
customer without delay4  7#b7 ,if a     
customer requests a contraceptive that  

is not in stock and the pharmacy in the 
normal course of business stocks        
contraception1 the pharmacy shall       
immediately inform the customer that the
 contraceptive is not in stock and      
without delay offer the customer the    
following options3  7,a7 ,if the        
customer prefers to obtain the          
contraceptive through a referral or     
transfer1 the pharmacy shall--  7i7     
locate a pharmacy of the customer's     
choice or the closest pharmacy confirmed
 to have the contraceptive in stock2 and
  7ii7 refer the customer or transfer   
the prescription to that pharmacy4  7,b7
 ,if the customer prefers for the       
pharmacy to order the contraceptive1 the
 pharmacy shall obtain the contraceptive
 under the pharmacy's standard procedure
 for expedited ordering of medication   
and notify the customer when the        
contraceptive arrives4  7#c7 ,the       
pharmacy shall ensure that its employees
 do not--  7,a7 intimidate1 threaten1 or
 harass customers in the delivery of    

services relating to a request for      
contraception2  7,b7 interfere with or  
obstruct the delivery of services       
relating to a request for contraception2
  7,c7 intentionally misrepresent or    
deceive customers about the availability
 of contraception or its mechanism of   
action2  7,d7 breach medical            
confidentiality with respect to a       
request for contraception or threaten to
 breach such confidentiality2 or  7,e7  
refuse to return a valid1 lawful        
prescription for contraception upon     
customer request4  7b7 ,contraceptives  
not ordinarily stocked ,nothing in      
subsection 7a77#b7 shall be construed to
 require any pharmacy to comply with    
such subsection if the pharmacy does not
 ordinarily stock contraceptives in the 
normal course of business4  7c7         
,refusals ,pursuant to ,standard        
,pharmacy ,practice ,this section does  
not prohibit a pharmacy from refusing to
 provide a contraceptive to a customer  
in accordance with any of the following3

  7#a7 ,if it is unlawful to dispense   
the contraceptive to the customer       
without a valid1 lawful prescription and
 no such prescription is presented4     
7#b7 ,if the customer is unable to pay  
for the contraceptive4  7#c7 ,if the    
employee of the pharmacy refuses to     
provide the contraceptive on the basis  
of a professional clinical judgment4    
7d7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in   
this section shall be construed to      
invalidate or limit rights1 remedies1   
procedures1 or legal standards under    
title ,,vii of the ,civil ,rights ,act  
of #aifd4  7e7 ,preemption ,this section
 does not preempt any provision of      
,state law or any professional          
obligation made applicable by a ,state  
board or other entity responsible for   
licensing or discipline of pharmacies or
 pharmacists1 to the extent that such   
,state law or professional obligation   
provides protections for customers that 
are greater than the protections        
provided by this section4  7f7          

,enforcement  7#a7 ,civil penalty ,a    
pharmacy that violates a requirement of 
subsection 7a7 is liable to the ,united 
,states for a civil penalty in an amount
 not exceeding #a1jjj per day of        
violation1 not to exceed #ajj1jjj for   
all violations adjudicated in a single  
proceeding4  7#b7 ,private cause of     
action ,any person aggrieved as a result
 of a violation of a requirement of     
subsection 7a7 may1 in any court of     
competent jurisdiction1 commence a civil
 action against the pharmacy involved to
 obtain appropriate relief1 including   
actual and punitive damages1 injunctive 
relief1 and a reasonable attorney's fee 
and cost4  7#c7 ,limitations ,a civil   
action under paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b7 may 
not be commenced against a pharmacy     
after the expiration of the #e-year     
period beginning on the date on which   
the pharmacy allegedly engaged in the   
violation involved4  7g7 ,definitions   
,in this section3  7#a7 ,the term       
contraception or contraceptive means any

 drug or device approved by the ,food   
and ,drug ,administration to prevent    
pregnancy4  7#b7 ,the term employee     
means a person hired1 by contract or any
 other form of an agreement1 by a       
pharmacy4  7#c7 ,the term pharmacy means
 an entity that--  7,a7 is authorized by
 a ,state to engage in the business of  
selling prescription drugs at retail2   
and  7,b7 employs one or more employees4
  7#d7 ,the term product means a ,food  
and ,drug ,administration-approved drug 
or device4  7#e7 ,the term professional 
clinical judgment means the use of      
professional knowledge and skills to    
form a clinical judgment1 in accordance 
with prevailing medical standards4  7#f7
 ,the term without delay1 with respect  
to a pharmacy providing1 providing a    
referral for1 or ordering contraception1
 or transferring the prescription for   
contraception1 means within the usual   
and customary timeframe at the pharmacy 
for providing1 providing a referral for1
 or ordering other products1 or         

transferring the prescription for other 
products1 respectively4  7h7 ,effective 
,date ,this section shall take effect on
 the #cast day after the date of the    
enactment of this section1 without      
regard to whether the ,secretary has    
issued any guidance or final rule       
regarding this section4  4