Access to Birth Control Act
Latest action · May 13, 2010 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 13, 2010
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Access to Birth Control Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require pharmacies to comply with certain rules related to contraceptives, including: (1) providing a customer a contraceptive without delay if it is in stock; (2) immediately informing a customer if the contraceptive is not in stock and either transferring the prescription to a pharmacy that has the contraceptive in stock or expediting the ordering of the contraceptive and notifying the customer when it arrives, based on customer preference, except for pharmacies that do not ordinarily stock contraceptives in the normal course of business; and (3) ensuring that pharmacy employees do not take certain actions relating to a request for contraception, including intimidating, threatening, or harassing customers, interfering with or obstructing the delivery of services, intentionally misrepresenting or deceiving customers about the availability of contraception or its mechanism of action, breaching or threatening to breach medical confidentiality, or refusing to return a valid, lawful prescription.
Provides that a pharmacy is not prohibited from refusing to provide a contraceptive to a customer if: (1) it is unlawful to dispense the contraceptive to the customer without a valid, lawful prescription and no such prescription is presented; (2) the customer is unable to pay for the contraceptive; or (3) the employee of the pharmacy refuses to provide the contraceptive on the basis of a professional clinical judgment.
Provides that this Act does not preempt state law or any professional obligation of a state board that provides greater protections for customers.
Sets forth civil penalties and establishes a a private cause of action for violations of this Act.
Cosponsors 21
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 13, 2010 to Dec 2, 2010; 12 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-OH | Betty Sutton | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-CA | Bob Filner | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-FL | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-KS | Dennis Moore | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-CA | Fortney Pete Stark | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-WA | Jay Inslee | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-MA | John F. Tierney | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-MA | John W. Olver | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-CA | Lois Capps | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-CA | Sam Farr | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Original | May 13, 2010 |
| D-NC | David E. Price | Jun 8, 2010 | |
| D-NJ | John H. Adler | Jun 24, 2010 | |
| D-OH | Dennis J. Kucinich | Jul 14, 2010 | |
| D-NJ | Steven R. Rothman | Jul 14, 2010 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Jul 20, 2010 | |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Sep 14, 2010 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Nov 16, 2010 | |
| D-CA | Lynn C. Woolsey | Nov 16, 2010 | |
| D-NJ | Rush Holt | Dec 2, 2010 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred May 13, 2010 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 13, 2010Introduced in House
- May 13, 2010Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E847-848)
- May 13, 2010Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E847 | Carolyn B. Maloney D-NY | May 13, 2010 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3357 | Access to Birth Control Act | Identical bill | May 13, 2010 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To establish certain duties for pharmacies to ensure provision of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraception, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Access to Birth Control Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 13, 2010Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
