Securing Access to Reproductive and Other Healthcare Services, 49505-49507 [2022-17420]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 154 (Thursday, August 11, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 49505-49507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-17420]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 154 / Thursday, August 11, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 49505]]

                Executive Order 14079 of August 3, 2022

                
Securing Access to Reproductive and Other 
                Healthcare Services

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. On July 8, 2022, following a 
                decision by the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade, 
                410 U.S. 113 (1973), I signed Executive Order 14076 
                (Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare 
                Services). As that order recognized, eliminating the 
                right recognized in Roe has had and will continue to 
                have devastating implications for women's health and 
                public health more broadly.

                Following that order, the Department of Health and 
                Human Services (HHS) has taken critical steps to 
                address those effects. These steps include clarifying 
                the obligation of hospitals and providers under the 
                Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, 42 U.S.C. 
                1395dd, to provide to patients presenting at an 
                emergency department with an emergency medical 
                condition stabilizing care, including an abortion, if 
                that care is necessary to stabilize their emergency 
                medical condition, and issuing guidance to the Nation's 
                retail pharmacies on their obligations under Federal 
                civil rights laws--including section 504 of the 
                Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 794, and section 1557 of 
                the Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. 18116--to ensure 
                equal access to comprehensive reproductive and other 
                healthcare services, including for women who are 
                experiencing miscarriages.

                However, the continued advancement of restrictive 
                abortion laws in States across the country has created 
                legal uncertainty and disparate access to reproductive 
                healthcare services depending on where a person lives, 
                putting patients, providers, and third parties at risk 
                and fueling confusion for hospitals and healthcare 
                providers, including pharmacies. There have been 
                numerous reports of women denied health- and life-
                saving emergency care, as providers fearful of legal 
                reprisal delay necessary treatment for patients until 
                their conditions worsen to dangerous levels. There are 
                also reports of women of reproductive age being denied 
                prescription medication at pharmacies--including 
                medication that is used to treat stomach ulcers, lupus, 
                arthritis, and cancer--due to concerns that these 
                medications, some of which can be used in medication 
                abortions, could be used to terminate a pregnancy. 
                Reportedly, a healthcare provider, citing a State law 
                restricting abortion, even temporarily stopped 
                providing emergency contraception.

                As it remains the policy of my Administration to 
                support women's access to reproductive healthcare 
                services, including their ability to travel to seek 
                abortion care in States where it is legal, I am 
                directing my Administration to take further action to 
                protect access to reproductive healthcare services and 
                to address the crisis facing women's health and public 
                health more broadly.

                Sec. 2. Definition. The term ``reproductive healthcare 
                services'' means medical, surgical, counseling, or 
                referral services relating to the human reproductive 
                system, including services relating to pregnancy or the 
                termination of a pregnancy.

                Sec. 3. Advancing the Ability to Obtain Reproductive 
                Healthcare Services. In furtherance of the policy set 
                forth in section 1 of this order, the Secretary of HHS 
                shall consider actions to advance access to 
                reproductive healthcare

[[Page 49506]]

                services, including, to the extent permitted by Federal 
                law, through Medicaid for patients traveling across 
                State lines for medical care.

                Sec. 4. Promoting Compliance with Non-Discrimination 
                Law in Obtaining Medical Care. In furtherance of the 
                policy set forth in section 1 of this order, and to 
                ensure that individuals are not denied necessary 
                healthcare on the basis of any ground protected by 
                Federal law, including current pregnancy, past 
                pregnancy, potential or intended pregnancy, or other 
                medical conditions, the Secretary of HHS shall consider 
                all appropriate actions to advance the prompt 
                understanding of and compliance with Federal non-
                discrimination laws by healthcare providers that 
                receive Federal financial assistance. Such actions may 
                include:

                    (a) providing technical assistance for healthcare 
                providers that have questions concerning their 
                obligations under Federal non-discrimination laws;
                    (b) convening healthcare providers to provide 
                information on their obligations under Federal non-
                discrimination laws and the potential consequences of 
                non-compliance; and
                    (c) issuing additional guidance, or taking other 
                action as appropriate, in response to any complaints or 
                other reports of non-compliance with Federal non-
                discrimination laws.

                Sec. 5. Data Collection. The Secretary of HHS shall 
                evaluate the adequacy of research, data collection, and 
                data analysis and interpretation efforts at the 
                National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease 
                Control and Prevention, and other relevant HHS 
                components in accurately measuring the effect of access 
                to reproductive healthcare on maternal health outcomes 
                and other health outcomes. Following that evaluation, 
                the Secretary shall take appropriate actions to improve 
                those efforts.

                Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 49507]]

                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    August 3, 2022.

[FR Doc. 2022-17420
Filed 8-10-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P