Fact Sheet: So-Called Abortion Non-Discrimination Act is Really an "Anti-Women's Health Care Access Act"

September 20, 2002

This legislation is one of the most dangerous and burdensome of all of the many anti-abortion and anti-contraception bills being promoted by extremist opponents of women's reproductive health care. An analysis of H.R. 4691/S.2008, sponsored by Michael Bilirakis (R-Fla.) in the House and Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) in the Senate, details what would happen under this legislation.

If H.R. 469/S. 2008 were to become law, it would have many dangerous consequences for women's health care. It would:

Deny women who are clients of Title X health care providers access to information about abortion and referrals to abortion services.
Under the current law, while federal Title X funds cannot be used to pay for abortion services, women are entitled to receive information about their health care options, including referrals to abortion services, if requested. This proposed bill, however, would compromise the safety and well-being of pregnant women who need information, by declaring it "discriminatory" to deny Title X funds to "family planning" providers that refuse to offer their patients full information.

Deny emergency contraception to women—even to rape victims.
Because the proposed legislation does not define the term "abortion," religiously-affiliated health care providers may term contraception as an "abortifacient" (causing or inducing abortion), even though emergency contraception is merely a high dose of ordinary birth control that will not interrupt a pregnancy (Weiss, 2002). Religiously-affiliated health care providers could then exempt themselves from state laws that require health care providers to offer emergency contraception services to rape survivors in the emergency room.

Deny poor women in emergencies the right to abortion services.
The proposed legislation would block states' ability to comply with the current Hyde Amendment, which states that Medicaid recipients are entitled to abortion coverage in cases of rape or incest, or when the pregnancy endangers the woman's life. Under the proposed bill, that requirement would become "discriminatory."

Interfere with states' ability to (a) enforce their own laws on abortion; (b) create their own Medicaid service requirements related to abortion; and, (c) improve women's access to full reproductive health services.
Under the proposed legislation, states could no longer require that health care providers participating in state Medicaid programs provide abortion referral services. Also, states could no longer require that state certified or licensed health care centers provide a full range of medical services to women—including abortion and abortion referrals, and even contraception information if it is termed "abortifacient"—in their communities. Finally, states could not even require private insurers to cover such services.