S. 589 — SAD Act

This section sets forth 16 congressional findings concerning abortion as essential reproductive health care; the effects of the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on June 24, 2022, including abortion unavailability in 14 states as of January 2025 (affecting 17.9 million women, transgender individuals, and gender nonconforming individuals of reproductive age, ages 15 to 49) and quadrupled travel times to clinics (with over 170,000 people traveling out-of-state in 2023); disproportionate burdens on low-income women and women of color; and deceptive practices by crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), of which there are more than 2,500 nationwide (outnumbering abortion clinics 3 to 1 nationally, 9 to 1 in Pennsylvania, and 11 to 1 in Minnesota).

This section prohibits any person from engaging in deceptive advertising about reproductive health services offered, including misrepresentations that the person offers or provides contraception or abortion services (or referrals for such services) or employs or offers access to licensed medical personnel. (Abortion services are defined broadly to include any medical or non-medical service related to or provided in conjunction with an abortion.) The section further (1) authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate implementing regulations; (2) treats violations as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under FTC Act section 18(a)(1)(B) (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)), enforceable by the FTC with full powers and jurisdiction including against nonprofit organizations notwithstanding FTC Act jurisdictional limits in 15 U.S.C. 44, 45(a)(2), and 46 (i.e., normally excluding entities not organized for profit); (3) grants the FTC independent litigation authority in federal district court for injunctions, compliance, civil penalties, consumer redress, and equitable relief, with exclusive authority to litigate such actions; (4) imposes civil penalties for each violation of the greater of $100,000 (adjusted annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index) or 50 percent of the ultimate parent entity's revenue in the preceding 12-month period; (5) requires the FTC to submit biennial reports to Congress beginning one year after enactment describing enforcement actions, outcomes, and regulations; and (6) includes a savings clause preserving other FTC authorities.