Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Stop Antiabortion Disinformation Act” or the “SAD Act” .
Stop Antiabortion Disinformation Act
A BILL
To prohibit disinformation in the advertising of abortion services, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds the following:
Abortion services are an essential component of reproductive health care.
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.
The effects were immediate and disastrous. As of January 2023, abortion is unavailable in 14 States, leaving 17.8 million women of reproductive age (ages 15 to 49) and transgender and gender nonconforming individuals without access to abortion in the home State of such individuals.
Travel time to an abortion clinic, already burdensome under Roe, has more than tripled since the Dobbs decision, as scores of clinics in already underserved areas have been forced to close and more patients have been forced to travel to other States. 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.
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.
Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are antiabortion organizations that present themselves as comprehensive reproductive health care providers with the intent of discouraging pregnant people from having abortions.
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.
According to 2020 data from JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, on average, 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.
CPCs routinely engage in a variety of deceptive tactics, including making false claims about reproductive health care and providers, disseminating inaccurate, misleading, and stigmatizing information about the risks of abortion and contraception, and using illegitimate or false citations to imply that deceptive claims are supported by legitimate medical sources.
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.
By using these deceptive tactics, CPCs prevent people from accessing reproductive health care and intentionally delay access to time-sensitive abortion services. The harm of these delays is far greater in the wake of the Dobbs decision.
CPCs target underresourced neighborhoods and communities of color, including Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian-American, Pacific Islander, and immigrant communities, by locating their facilities 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.
People are entitled to honest, accurate, and timely information when seeking reproductive health care.
Sec. 3 Prohibition on disinformation of abortion services
Conduct prohibited—
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 deceptively states that the person—
offers or provides contraception or abortion services (or referrals for such contraception or abortion services); or
employs or offers access to licensed medical personnel.
Rulemaking— The Commission may promulgate regulations under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to implement this section.
Enforcement by the Commission— A violation of this section or a regulation promulgated under 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. Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (4) to (6), the Commission shall enforce this section and the regulations promulgated under 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. Any person who violates this section or a regulation promulgated under this section shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
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 or a regulation promulgated under this section, in the same manner provided in paragraphs (1) and (3), with respect to organizations not organized to carry on business for their own profit or that of their members.
Civil penalty— In addition to any other penalty as may be prescribed by law, any person who violates this section or a regulation promulgated under this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty that shall not exceed the greater of—
$100,000; or
50 percent of the revenues earned by the ultimate parent entity of a person during the preceding 12-month period.
Independent litigation authority—
Civil action by Commission— If the Commission has reason to believe that a person has violated this section or a regulation promulgated under this section, the Commission may bring a civil action in any appropriate United States district court for any of the following remedies:
To enjoin any further such violation by such person.
To enforce compliance with this section or a regulation promulgated under this section.
To obtain a permanent, temporary, or preliminary injunction.
To obtain civil penalties.
To obtain damages, restitution, or other compensation on behalf of aggrieved consumers.
To obtain any other appropriate equitable relief.
Exclusive authority of Commission— 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. 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.
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 any enforcement action by the Commission under this Act, any regulation promulgated under this Act, and the outcomes of such actions.
Savings clause— Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any other provision of law.
Definitions— In this Act:
Abortion services— The term abortion services means an abortion or any medical or non-medical services 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.
Commission— The term Commission means the Federal Trade Commission.
Person— The term person has the meaning given that term in section 551(2) of title 5, United States Code.