,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #id  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of 
,,representatives  ,february #bh1 #bjac 
,ms4 ,schakowsky submitted the following
 resolution2 which was referred to the  
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 and
 in addition to the ,committees on      
,education and the ,workforce and ,ways 
and ,means1 for a period to be          
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,,resolution  ,expressing the sense of  
the ,house of ,representatives regarding
 women's health and economic security4  
,whereas improving the health and       
well-being of women is a stated goal of 
,healthy ,people #bjbj1 the             
comprehensive1 nationwide health        
promotion and disease prevention agenda 
launched by the ,united ,states         
,department of ,health and ,human       
,services2 ,whereas older women and     
women with disabilities rely on         

,medicare and low-income women rely on  
,medicaid for affordable1 quality health
 care2 ,whereas access to comprehensive 
reproductive health care is critical to 
improving the health and well-being of  
women2 ,whereas uninsured women are #c  
times less likely to have had a ,pap    
test in the last #c years1 with a #fj   
percent greater risk of late-stage      
cervical cancer diagnosis2 ,whereas #ej 
percent of uninsured women do not have a
 regular doctor compared to #aa percent 
of insured women2 ,whereas significant  
racial and ethnic disparities exist in  
women's health1 particularly in maternal
 mortality1 infant mortality1 and       
incidence of premature or low birth     
weight births2 ,whereas lesbian1 gay1   
bisexual1 and transgender 7,,lgbt7 women
 have unique health care needs and      
confront a unique set of disparities in 
the current health care system2 ,whereas
 pregnant women are often excluded from 
research studies violating the ethical  
principle of justice2 ,whereas federally

 funded research is a critical component
 to understanding health conditions in  
women across the life span1 and has led 
to many scientific breakthroughs that   
have been become clinical standards of  
care2 ,whereas about half of pregnancies
 are unintended1 though preventing      
unintended pregnancies benefits child   
health1 maternal health1 and the health 
and well-being of families and society  
as a whole2 ,whereas there are continued
 efforts to defund or eliminate family  
planning programs1 even though they are 
proven to reduce unintended pregnancies 
and reduce the need for abortions2      
,whereas the ,medicaid program covers   
#ga percent of publicly funded family   
planning services and over #dj percent  
of all ,united ,states births and the   
,title ,x ,family ,planning program     
serves over #e1jjj1jjj low-income men   
and women a year who often do not have  
insurance or qualify for ,medicaid2     
,whereas there have been numerous       
attempts1 both legal and legislative1 to

 allow insurance companies and employers
 with personal religious or moral       
objections to deny women the ,affordable
 ,care ,act preventive services benefit 
requiring coverage for all ,,fda        
approved contraceptive methods1 despite 
the fact that such services are based on
 a foundation of scientific1 medical    
evidence supporting the effectiveness of
 preventive services2 ,whereas          
over-the-counter emergency contraception
 is not available to all women1 even    
though the ,american ,college of        
,obstetricians and ,gynecologists and   
the ,american ,academy of ,pediatrics   
recommend increased access to emergency 
contraception1 without an age           
restriction1 as a back-up birth control 
option1 as research shows it prevents   
unintended pregnancies and reduces the  
need for abortion2 ,whereas a lack of   
adequate prenatal care increases the    
risks of having low birth-weight or     
preterm babies1 neonatal mortality1     
infant mortality1 and maternal          

mortality2 ,whereas preterm births alone
 costs the ,united ,states health care  
system #bf1jjj1jjj1jjj annually2        
,whereas many women lack access to      
comprehensive1 affordable insurance     
coverage1 even though all women should  
have this for all pregnancy-related     
care1 including prenatal care1          
miscarriage management1 family planning 
services1 abortion1 labor and delivery  
services1 and postnatal care2 ,whereas  
in #bjab1 ,state legislatures passed #dc
 laws in #ai ,states to restrict access 
to abortion1 the second-highest number  
of such measures passed in a single     
year2 ,whereas efforts have been made to
 ban ,graduate ,medical ,education      
funding from going towards abortion     
training1 even though the ,accreditation
 ,council for ,graduate ,medical        
,education 7,,acgme7 standards stipulate
 that programs in obstetrics and        
gynecology must have an established     
curriculum for family planning and      
managing complications of abortions1 and

 must provide the opportunity for direct
 procedural training in abortions for   
those residents who desire it2 ,whereas 
legislators have attempted to           
inappropriately interfere with the      
patient-physician relationship1 often to
 satisfy political agendas without      
regard to established1 evidence-based   
guidelines for care2 ,whereas this type 
of interference can inhibit open and    
honest communication between patients   
and providers and also jeopardize       
patient safety2 ,whereas exposure to    
environmental toxicants has the         
potential to impact the health of women1
 and the health of future generations2  
,whereas intimate partner violence      
affects #a1ejj1jjj women each year and  
#cbd1jjj pregnant women each year2 the  
direct effects can include miscarriage  
and fetal injury or death1 and the      
indirect effects can include delayed    
prenatal care1 smoking1 and drug and    
alcohol abuse2 ,whereas there is a known
 link between intimate partner violence 

and reproductive coercion1 which occurs 
whenever a partner tries to stop a woman
 from making her own decisions about    
pregnancy1 such as interfering with     
contraception use1 forcing sex1 or      
pressuring her to continue or end a     
pregnancy2 ,whereas a woman must be     
supported not only in the decision to   
carry a pregnancy to term1 but be       
empowered to navigate the complexities  
of parenthood including the role as     
primary1 and in some cases the sole     
breadwinner1 active caregiver1 employee 
trying to fulfill their job             
responsibilities1 and primary health    
care decision maker within the family2  
,whereas #hj percent of all caregivers  
are women1 and approximately half of    
those women provide care and support for
 both children under the age of #ah and 
an older relative1 and make health care 
decisions for at least one other person 
in the household besides themselves2    
,whereas women are now the sole         
breadwinners or co-breadwinners in the  

majority of ,united ,states households2 
,whereas the lack of pay equity forces  
women to choose between necessities for 
their family1 like food1 shelter1 and   
clothing1 and critical health care needs
 for family members in the home2        
,whereas #dc percent of working women   
lack the workplace flexibility or have  
family friendly workplace policies that 
ensure that they can provide for their  
family during medical emergencies1      
effectively use the preventative health 
care services available to them and     
their dependents1 and stay in the       
workforce as long as necessary to       
provide financial stability for their   
family2 ,whereas less than half of      
working women have access to any paid   
parental leave1 while paid leave after  
the birth of a child leads to better    
health outcomes1 higher rates of        
breastfeeding and for longer duration1  
and better maternal employment outcomes 
and higher wages2 ,whereas more than #dj
 percent of working women do not have a 

single earned sick day to care for      
themselves or their family2 ,whereas the
 ,pregnancy ,discrimination ,act        
prevents discrimination of pregnant     
women in the workplace1 yet many women  
still face pregnancy discrimination1    
such as being denied requests for       
reasonable workplace accommodations to  
continue working while pregnant2 and    
,whereas women rely on ,social ,security
 for a larger share of their retirement 
income including #bc percent of older   
women who rely on ,social ,security for 
#ajj percent of their income3 ,now1     
therefore1 be it  ,that the ,house of   
,representatives supports efforts to--  
7#a7 make improving women's health a    
priority in the #aacth ,congress2  7#b7 
ensure that all women have access to the
 best available1 scientifically based   
health care2  7#c7 ensure that women    
have access to safe childbearing1 with  
resources available to reduce maternal  
and infant morbidity and mortality2     
7#d7 ensure that women have the autonomy

 to decide whether to have children1 the
 number and spacing of their children1  
and to have medically accurate          
information1 education1 and access to   
health services to make these decisions2
  7#e7 ensure that women have access to 
affordable insurance coverage for all of
 their pregnancy-related health care    
needs1 including contraception and      
abortion1 as well as for their general  
health care needs including coverage    
through ,medicare1 ,medicaid1 and the   
,affordable ,care ,act2  7#f7 work to   
end gender discrimination and improve   
the health of women by implementing the 
,affordable ,care ,act2  7#g7 ensure    
that women have autonomous              
decisionmaking1 informed consent1       
privacy1 and confidentiality regarding  
their health care2  7#h7 work to end    
health disparities for women1 including 
with regard to ethnicity1 race1 gender1 
and sexual orientation2  7#i7 ensure    
that women are able to participate      
equally in ethically conducted clinical 

research2  7#aj7 work to end            
gender-based violence1 which            
disproportionately affects women1       
including transgender women2  7#aa7     
ensure parents have and can use earned  
sick days to care for one's self or     
one's family1 have paid leave to prepare
 for and recover from pregnancy and     
childbirth and to care for their        
children or a loved one1 and may receive
 a social security credit if they are   
forced to leave the workforce to care   
for a child or a loved one2  7#ab7      
eliminate discrimination and promote    
women's health and economic security by 
ensuring reasonable workplace           
accommodations for workers whose ability
 to perform the functions of a job are  
limited by pregnancy1 childbirth1 or a  
related medical condition2  7#ac7 ensure
 that women receive equal pay for equal 
work2 and  7#ad7 ensure that older women
 have the resources needed to guarantee 
their financial and economic security as
 they age4