Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the National Domestic Violence Hotline, between 10,000,000 to 12,000,000 women and men become victims of domestic violence each year. (2) A person can experience domestic violence though either intimate partner violence, such as with a current or former dating partner, or non-intimate partner violence, such as those with whom the person has a familial relationship. (3) Intimate partner violence has affected both women and men across the United States. For example, roughly 20 people every minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. In particular, women between the ages of 18 to 34 experience the highest rates of intimate partner violence of any group, with over one third of murdered women in 2021 were killed in relation to intimate partner violence. (4) Reproductive coercion is a form of intimate violence by an intimate partner, dating partner, domestic partner, or spouse against a person that involves behaviors to exert control over a person's reproductive autonomy. (5) Reproductive coercion affects people across a wide array of socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds. (6) Common forms of reproductive coercion include sabotaging contraceptive methods and coercing or forcing a person to either become pregnant or terminate a pregnancy. (7) Studies indicate that eight percent to sixteen percent of adult women in the United States have experienced some form of reproductive coercion. For example, one-quarter of abuse survivors report that their abusive partners have forced them to become pregnant. Additionally, over two-thirds of women in physically abusive relationships also experience sexual assault by the intimate partner, and those women are at heightened risk of homicide. (8) Homicide is a leading cause of mortality for pregnant and postpartum women in the United States. (9) Persons experiencing reproductive coercion are traveling across State lines to neighboring states to access reproductive health care, including when they lack access to reproductive health care providers. (10) Due to State-level reproductive health care laws, some private companies have adjusted corporate policies to provide, among other provisions, travel reimbursements for employees who need to access out-of-State reproductive health care. (11) Many health insurance plans and medical providers commonly offer mail-order delivery of birth control, ensuring timely access to medication without the need for in-person visits. Concerningly, persons experiencing reproductive coercion have reported instances where an intimate partner sabotaged or destroyed their mail-order birth control. (12) Health care insurance markets may cover or operate across multiple States and may be impacted by different State regulations concerning reproductive health care and services.