Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1446 By Senator Osgood 32-01390-24 20241446__ Page 1 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 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 this 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 of married people to use contraceptives, 23 and 24 WHEREAS, in Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972), the 25 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

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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 planning 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 rights to life, liberty, 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 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

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1446 32-01390-24 20241446__ Page 3 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 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 people 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, which 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 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 four states had tried to 81 ban access to some or all contraceptives by restricting access 82 to 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

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1446 32-01390-24 20241446__ Page 4 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 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, in 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 Obergefell” 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 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 status, or geography, NOW, THEREFORE, 105 106 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 107 108

Section

Section 381.998, Florida Statutes, is created to 109 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

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1446 32-01390-24 20241446__ Page 5 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 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, which is legally marketed under the Federal Food, Drug, 121 and Cosmetic Act, such as oral contraceptives, 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 (c) “Health care provider” has the same 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

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1446 32-01390-24 20241446__ Page 6 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. convincing evidence, all of the following: 146 1. The limitation or requirement significantly advances the 147 safety of contraceptives, contraception, and contraception-148 related information. 149 2. The safety of contraceptives, contraception, and 150 contraception-related information or the health of patients 151 cannot be advanced by a less restrictive 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 obtaining or 161 aiding another person in obtaining any contraceptives approved 162 by the federal Food and Drug Administration or using any 163 contraceptive method. 164 3.

Exempts any contraceptives approved by the federal Food 165 and Drug Administration from any other general law in a way that 166 would make it more difficult to sell, provide, obtain, or use 167 those contraceptives or contraceptive methods. 168 (

b) This

section does not supersede or otherwise affect any 169 provision relating to coverage under group health plans or group 170 or individual health insurance coverage and may not be construed 171 as requiring the provision of specific benefits under these 172 plans or coverage. 173 (

c) An individual or entity who is subject to a limitation 174

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1446 32-01390-24 20241446__ Page 7 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. or requirement that violates this

section has an affirmative 175 defense to any cause of action brought under this

section 176 against the individual or entity. 177 (5)(

a) This

section must be liberally construed to 178 effectuate its purposes. 179 (

b) This

section does not: 180 1. Authorize the state or a political subdivision to 181 interfere with a health care provider’s ability to provide 182 contraceptives or contraception-related information or a 183 person’s ability to obtain contraceptives or to engage in 184 contraception. 185 2. Authorize or sanction the conduct of any sterilization 186 procedure without the patient’s voluntary and informed consent. 187 (6)(

a) The Attorney General may commence a civil action on 188 behalf of the state against any person that violates or enforces 189 a limitation or requirement that violates this section. In any 190 civil action brought under this paragraph, the Attorney General 191 may compromise and settle the action as he or she determines is 192 in the best interest of the state. 193 (

b) Any person or entity, including a health care provider 194 or patient, adversely affected by an alleged violation of this 195

section may commence a civil action against any person that 196 violates, implements, or enforces a limitation or a requirement 197 that violates this section. 198 (

c) A health care provider may commence an action for 199 relief on its own behalf, on behalf of the health care 200 provider’s staff, and on behalf of the health care provider’s 201 patients who are or may be adversely affected by an alleged 202 violation of this section. 203

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d) If a court finds that there has been a violation of 204 this section, the court must hold unlawful and set aside the 205 limitation or requirement. In any action under this section, the 206 court may award appropriate equitable relief, including 207 temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive relief. 208 (

e) The court shall award to any prevailing plaintiff 209 attorney fees and costs. Unless a court determines an action is 210 frivolous, the court may not hold a plaintiff liable to a 211 defendant for attorney fees and costs in an action under this 212 section. 213

Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 214