Senate Bill No. 835
Public Act No. 21-17
AN ACT CONCERNING DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING PRACTICES OF
LIMITED SERVICES PREGNANCY CENTERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) As used in this section and
sections 2 and 3 of this act:
(1) "Abortion" means the termination of a pregnancy for purposes
other than producing a live birth. "Abortion" includes, but is not limited
to, a termination of a pregnancy using pharmacological agents;
(2) "Client" means an individual who is inquiring about or seeking
services at a pregnancy services center;
(3) "Clinical laboratory services" means the microbiological,
serological, chemical, hematological, biophysical, cytological or
pathological examination of materials derived from the human body for
the purpose of obtaining information for the diagnosis, prevention or
treatment of disease or the assessment of a health condition;
(4) "Emergency contraception" means one or more prescription drugs
(A) used separately or in combination for the purpose of preventing
pregnancy, (B) administered to or self-administered by a patient within Senate Bill No. 835
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a medically recommended amount of time after sexual intercourse, (C)
dispensed for such purpose in accordance with professional standards
of practice, and (D) determined by the United States Food and Drug
Administration to be safe for such purpose;
(5) "Health information" means any oral or written information in any
form or medium that relates to health insurance or the past, present or
future physical or mental health or condition of a client;
(6) "Licensed health care provider" means a person licensed under the
provisions of federal or state law to provide health care or other medical
services;
(7) "Limited services pregnancy center" means a pregnancy services
center that does not directly provide, or provide referrals for, abortions
or emergency contraception;
(8) "Pregnancy-related service" means any medical or health
counseling service related to pregnancy or pregnancy prevention,
including, but not limited to, contraception and contraceptive
counseling, pregnancy testing, pregnancy diagnosis, pregnancy options
counseling, obstetric ultrasound, obstetric sonogram and prenatal care;
(9) "Pregnancy services center" means a facility, including a mobile
facility, the primary purpose of which is to provide services to clients
who are or have reason to believe they may be pregnant and that either
(A) offers obstetric ultrasounds, obstetric sonograms, pregnancy testing
or diagnosis or prenatal care to pregnant clients, or (B) has the
appearance of a medical facility by virtue of having two or more of the
following factors present: (i) Staff or volunteers who wear medical attire
and uniforms; (ii) one or more examination tables; (iii) a private or
semiprivate room or area containing medical supplies or medical
instruments; (iv) staff or volunteers who collect health information from
clients; or (v) the facility is located on the same premises as a licensed Senate Bill No. 835
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health care facility or licensed health care provider or shares facility
space with a licensed health care provider;
(10) "Premises" means land and improvements or appurtenances or
any part thereof; and
(11) "Prenatal care" means services consisting of a physical
examination, pelvic examination or clinical laboratory services
provided to a client during pregnancy.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) No limited services pregnancy
center, with the intent to perform a pregnancy-related service, shall
make or disseminate before the public, or cause to be made or
disseminated before the public, in any newspaper or other publication,
through any advertising device, or in any other manner, including, but
not limited to, through use of the Internet, any statement concerning any
pregnancy-related service or the provision of any pregnancy-related
service that is deceptive, whether by statement or omission, and that a
limited services pregnancy center knows or reasonably should know to
be deceptive.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) The Attorney General may
apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for injunctive relief to
compel compliance with the provisions of section 2 of this act and
correct the effects of the deceptive advertising, provided the Attorney
General gives written notice to the limited services pregnancy center in
accordance with subsection (b) of this section. Any injunctive relief
ordered by the court may include requiring the limited service
pregnancy center to:
(1) Pay for and disseminate appropriate corrective advertising in the
same form and using the same advertising device as used in the
deceptive advertising;
(2) Post a remedial notice that corrects the effects of the deceptive Senate Bill No. 835
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advertising; or
(3) Provide such other narrowly tailored relief as the court deems
necessary to remedy the adverse effects of the deceptive advertising on
any clients seeking pregnancy-related services.
(b) Prior to commencing an action pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section, the Attorney General shall give written notice to the limited
services pregnancy center of the violation of section 2 of this act and
allow the limited services pregnancy center to cure such violation not
later than ten days after receipt of the written notice. The Attorney
General may file an action pursuant to subsection (a) of this section after
such ten-day period if the limited services pregnancy center does not
respond to the written notice or refuses to cure the violation of section 2
of this act.
(c) Upon a finding by the court that a limited services pregnancy
center has violated any provision of section 2 of this act, the state shall
be entitled to recover (1) civil penalties of not less than fifty dollars and
not more than five hundred dollars per violation, and (2) reasonable
attorney's fees and costs.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the state or any political
subdivision thereof from seeking any administrative, legal or equitable
relief permitted by law, including, but not limited to, relief permitted by
chapter 735a of the general statutes and the regulations adopted
thereunder.