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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to access to contraception; creating 2
s. 381.998, F.S.; providing a short title; providing 3
definitions; authorizing a person to obtain 4
contraceptives and engage in contraception; 5
authorizing a health care provider to provide 6
contraceptives, contraception, and contraception -7
related information; providing requirements for a 8
defense to certain violations; authorizing the 9
Attorney General, a person, or an entity to bring 10
enforcement actions under certain circumstances; 11
authorizing civil penalties; providing applicability 12
and construction; providing an effective date. 13
14
WHEREAS, the right to contraception is a fundamental right, 15
central to a person's privacy, health, well -being, dignity, 16
liberty, equality, and ability to participate in the social and 17
economic life of the state, and 18
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has repeatedly 19
recognized the constitutional right to contraception, and 20
WHEREAS, in Griswold v. Connecticut , 381 U.S. 479 (1965), 21
the United States Supreme Court first recognized the 22
constitutional right for married people to use contraceptives, 23
and 24
WHEREAS, in Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972), the 25
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United States Supreme Court confirmed the constitutional right 26
of all people to legally access contraceptives regardless of 27
marital status, and 28
WHEREAS, in Carey v. Population Services International , 431 29
U.S. 678 (1977), the United States Supreme Court affirmed the 30
constitutional right to contraceptives for minors, and 31
WHEREAS, the right to contraception has been repeatedly 32
recognized internationally as a human right , and 33
WHEREAS, the United Nations Population Fund has published 34
several reports outlining family planni ng as a basic human right 35
that advances women's health, economic empowerment, and 36
equality, and 37
WHEREAS, access to contraceptives is internationally 38
recognized by the World Health Organization as advancing other 39
human rights such as the right to life, lib erty, expression, 40
health, work, and education, and 41
WHEREAS, contraception is safe, essential health care, and 42
access to contraceptive products and services is central to 43
people's ability to participate equally in economic and social 44
life, allowing people to make decisions about their families and 45
their lives, and 46
WHEREAS, contraception is key to sexual and reproductive 47
health and is critical to preventing unintended pregnancy, and 48
many contraceptives are highly effective in preventing and 49
treating a wide array of often severe medical conditions and 50
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decrease the risk of certain cancers, and 51
WHEREAS, family planning improves health outcomes for 52
women, their families, and their communities and reduces rates 53
of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, and 54
WHEREAS, the United States has a long history of 55
reproductive coercion, including the childbearing forced upon 56
enslaved women, as well as the forced sterilization of Black 57
women, Puerto Rican women, indigenous women, immigrant women, 58
and disabled women, and reproductive coercion continues to 59
occur, and 60
WHEREAS, the right to make personal decisions about 61
contraceptive use is important for all people, and is especially 62
critical for historically marginalized groups, including Black, 63
indigenous, and other pe ople of color; immigrants; lesbian, gay, 64
bisexual, transgender, and queer people; people with 65
disabilities; people with low incomes; and people living in 66
rural and underserved areas , and 67
WHEREAS, many people who are part of these marginalized 68
groups already face barriers, exacerbated by social, political, 69
economic, and environmental inequities, to comprehensive health 70
care, including reproductive health care, that reduce their 71
ability to make decisions about their health, families, and 72
lives, and 73
WHEREAS, policies governing pharmaceutical and insurance 74
policies affect the accessibility of contraceptives and the 75
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settings in which contraception services are delivered, and 76
WHEREAS, despite the clearly established constitutional 77
right to contraception , access to contraceptives, including 78
emergency contraceptives and long -acting reversible 79
contraceptives, has been obstructed in various ways, and 80
WHEREAS, as of June 2023, at least 4 states tried to ban 81
access to some or all contraceptives by restricting access to 82
public funding for these products and services, and 83
WHEREAS, health care providers' refusals to offer 84
contraceptives and contraception -related information on the 85
basis of their own personal beliefs impede patients from 86
obtaining their preferred method of contraception, and 87
WHEREAS, states have attempted to define abortion 88
expansively so as to include contraceptives in state bans on 89
abortion and have also restricted access to emergency 90
contraception, and 91
WHEREAS, in June 2022, Justice Thomas, i n his concurring 92
opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , 142 S. 93
Ct. 2228 (2022), stated that the United States Supreme Court 94
"should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process 95
precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Oberg efell" and 96
that the court has "a duty to correct the error established in 97
those precedents" by overruling them, and 98
WHEREAS, in order to further public health and to combat 99
efforts to restrict access to reproductive health care, action 100
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is necessary to protect access to contraceptives, contraception, 101
and contraception-related information for everyone, regardless 102
of actual or perceived race, ethnicity, sex, including gender 103
identity and sexual orientation, income, disability, national 104
origin, immigration sta tus, or geography, NOW, THEREFORE, 105
106
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 107
108
Section 1. Section 381.998, Florida Statutes, is created 109
to read: 110
381.998 Right to contraception. — 111
(1) This section may be cited as the "Right to 112
Contraception Act." 113
(2) As used in this section, the term: 114
(a) "Contraception" means an action taken to prevent 115
pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives or fertility 116
awareness-based methods and sterilization procedures. 117
(b) "Contraceptive" means any drug, device, or biological 118
product intended for use in the prevention of pregnancy, whether 119
specifically intended to prevent pregnancy or for other health 120
needs, that is legally marketed under the Federal Food, Drug, 121
and Cosmetic Act, such as oral contra ceptives, long-acting 122
reversible contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, internal 123
and external condoms, injectables, vaginal barrier methods, 124
transdermal patches, and vaginal rings or other contraceptives. 125
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(c) "Health care provider" has the meaning as in s. 126
381.00321(1). 127
(d) "Political subdivision" has the same meaning as in s. 128
1.01(8). 129
(3)(a) A person may obtain contraceptives and engage in 130
contraception, and a health care provider may provide 131
contraceptives, contraception, and contraception -related 132
information. 133
(b) This subsection does not limit any of the following: 134
1. Expressly, effectively, implicitly, or as implemented, 135
the provision of contraceptives, contraception, or 136
contraception-related information; health care providers who 137
provide contraceptives, contraception, or contraception -related 138
information; or facilities in which contraceptives, 139
contraception, or contraception -related information is provided. 140
2. Access to contraceptives, contraception, or 141
contraception-related information. 142
(c) For a defense against a claim that a limitation or 143
requirement violates a health care provider's or patient's 144
rights under paragraph (b), a party must establish, by clear and 145
convincing evidence, all of the following: 146
1. The limitation or requiremen t significantly advances 147
the safety of contraceptives, contraception, and contraception -148
related information. 149
2. The safety of contraceptives, contraception, and 150
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contraception-related information or the health of patients 151
cannot be advanced by a less rest rictive alternative measure or 152
action. 153
(4)(a) The state or any political subdivision may not 154
administer, implement, or enforce any law, rule, regulation, 155
standard, or other provision having the force and effect of law 156
in a manner that: 157
1. Prohibits or restricts the sale, provision, or use of 158
any contraceptives that have been approved by the federal Food 159
and Drug Administration for contraceptive purposes. 160
2. Prohibits or restricts any person from aiding another 161
person in obtaining any contraceptives ap proved by the federal 162
Food and Drug Administration or contraceptive methods. 163
3. Exempts any contraceptives approved by the federal Food 164
and Drug Administration from any other general law in a way that 165
would make it more difficult to sell, provide, obtain, or use 166
those contraceptives or contraceptive methods. 167
(b) This section does not supersede or otherwise affect 168
any provision relating to coverage under group health plans or 169
group or individual health insurance coverage and may not be 170
construed as requiring the provision of specific benefits under 171
these plans or coverage. 172
(c) An individual or entity who is subject to a limitation 173
or requirement that violates this section sha ll have an 174
affirmative defense to any action brought under this section to 175
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any cause of action against the individual or entity. 176
(5)(a) This section shall be liberally construed to 177
effectuate its purposes. 178
(b) This section does not: 179
1. Authorize the state or a political subdivision to 180
interfere with a health care provider's ability to provide 181
contraceptives or contraception -related information or a 182
person's ability to obtain contraceptives or to engage in 183
contraception. 184
2. Permit or sanction the con duct of any sterilization 185
procedure without the patient's voluntary and informed consent. 186
(6)(a) The Attorney General may commence a civil action on 187
behalf of the state against any person that violates or enforces 188
a limitation or requirement that violate s this section. In any 189
civil action brought under this paragraph, the Attorney General 190
may compromise and settle the action as he or she determines is 191
in the best interest of the state. 192
(b) Any person or entity, including a health care provider 193
or patient, adversely affected by an alleged violation of this 194
section may commence a civil action against any person that 195
violates, implements, or enforces a limitation or a requirement 196
that violates this section. 197
(c) A health care provider may commence an actio n for 198
relief on its own behalf, on behalf of the health care 199
provider's staff, and on behalf of the health care provider's 200
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patients who are or may be adversely affected by an alleged 201
violation of this section. 202
(d) If a court finds that there has been a v iolation of 203
this section, the court shall hold unlawful and set aside the 204
limitation or requirement. In any action under this section, the 205
court may award appropriate equitable relief, including 206
temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive relief. 207
(e) The court shall award to any prevailing plaintiff 208
attorney fees and costs. Unless a court determines an action is 209
frivolous, the court may not hold a plaintiff liable to a 210
defendant for attorney fees and costs in an action under this 211
section. 212
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 213