102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4221

 

Introduced 1/5/2022, by Rep. Barbara Hernandez

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Pregnancy Center Disclosure Act. Presents the findings of the General Assembly. Provides that the purpose of the Act is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of pregnant women. Provides that a limited services pregnancy facility shall disseminate to clients on-site, and in any print and digital advertising materials, notice stating that the facility is not licensed as a medical facility by Illinois and has no licensed medical provider who provides or directly supervises the provision of services. Contains other notice requirements. Provides that the Attorney General shall bring an action to impose civil penalties of $500 for a first offense and $5,000 for each subsequent offense against a limited services pregnancy facility that fails to comply with the requirements of the Act. Provides that a private party may bring a civil action for injunctive relief to enforce the Act. Contains requirements for notice of noncompliance. Defines "limited services pregnancy facility". Contains a severability provision. Contains other provisions.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB4221LRB102 21392 CPF 30508 b

1    AN ACT concerning health.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Pregnancy Center Disclosure Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings; purpose.
7    (a) The General Assembly finds that:
8        (1) Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) are offices that
9    purport to offer women comprehensive and unbiased
10    reproductive health care information and services, but
11    instead they attempt to prevent women from obtaining
12    abortions.
13        (2) There are an estimated 2,500 Crisis Pregnancy
14    Centers across the United States, while there are only
15    about 840 licensed clinics that perform abortions. In many
16    states, CPCs far outnumber abortion clinics.
17        (3) Crisis Pregnancy Centers have a history of
18    targeting vulnerable women with misleading ads and
19    providing them with false and medically inaccurate
20    information about abortion, birth control, and a woman's
21    own health status.
22        (4) Crisis Pregnancy Centers rarely employ licensed
23    medical practitioners. Instead, unlicensed counselors or

 

 

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1    volunteers provide "services" to pregnant women, sometimes
2    even performing medical tests that they are unqualified to
3    provide.
4        (5) Women who seek health care or counseling during
5    pregnancy require and deserve accurate information about
6    these pregnancy-related facilities.
7    (b) The purpose of this Act is to protect the health,
8safety, and welfare of pregnant women.
 
9    Section 10. Definition. In this Act, "limited services
10pregnancy facility" means a facility that: (i) has a primary
11purpose of providing pregnancy-related services; (ii) is not
12licensed by the State and does not have a licensed medical
13provider on staff or under contract who provides or directly
14supervises the provision of all of the services; and (iii)
15satisfies 2 or more of the following:
16        (1) The facility offers obstetric ultrasounds,
17    obstetric sonograms, or prenatal care to pregnant women.
18        (2) The facility offers pregnancy testing or pregnancy
19    diagnosis.
20        (3) The facility advertises or solicits patrons with
21    offers to provide prenatal sonography, pregnancy tests, or
22    pregnancy options counseling.
23        (4) The facility has staff or volunteers who collect
24    health information from clients.
25        (5) The facility has staff or volunteers who are not

 

 

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1    licensed nurses or physicians but who dress in clothing
2    that is typical of nurses or physicians.
 
3    Section 15. Requirements for a limited services pregnancy
4facility.
5    (a) A limited services pregnancy facility shall
6disseminate to clients on-site, and in any print and digital
7advertising materials, including Internet websites, the
8following notice:
9        "This facility is not licensed as a medical facility
10    by Illinois and has no licensed medical provider who
11    provides or directly supervises the provision of
12    services."
13    (b) In any county where more than 10% of the overall
14population speaks a language other than English at home, as
15measured by the U.S. Census, the notice distributed on-site
16under subsection (a) shall also be provided in such other
17language. Where advertising materials are in a language other
18than English, the notice shall be provided in the same
19language.
20    (c) The on-site notice required under subsection (a) shall
21be a sign at least 11 inches by 17 inches, written in no less
22than 80 point type, and shall be posted conspicuously at the
23entrance of the limited services pregnancy facility and in at
24least one additional area where clients wait to receive
25services.

 

 

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1    (d) The notice required under subsection (a), as it
2appears in advertising material, shall be clear and
3conspicuous, meaning: (i) in larger point type than the
4surrounding text; (ii) in contrasting type, font, or color to
5the surrounding text of the same size; or (iii) set off from
6the surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks
7that call attention to the language of the notice.
 
8    Section 20. Enforcement.
9    (a) The Attorney General shall bring an action to impose
10civil penalties against a limited services pregnancy facility
11that fails to comply with the requirements of this Act. Such
12penalties shall be $500 for a first offense and $5,000 for each
13subsequent offense.
14    (b) Before bringing an action to impose civil penalties,
15the Attorney General shall provide the limited services
16pregnancy facility with reasonable notice of noncompliance
17that informs the limited services pregnancy facility that it
18is subject to a civil penalty if it does not correct the
19violation within 30 days after the date the notice is sent, and
20the Attorney General shall verify that the violation was not
21corrected within 30 days before imposing the penalties.
22    (c) A private party may bring a civil action for
23injunctive relief to enforce this Act. In such case, the
24private party shall provide the limited services pregnancy
25facility notice of noncompliance by certified mail at least 30

 

 

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1days before filing suit. If the facility fails to correct the
2violation by the time the civil action is filed and the
3plaintiff prevails in the action, the plaintiff shall be
4entitled to recover attorney's fees and costs.
 
5    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
6severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.