109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2593
To protect, consistent with Roe v. Wade, a woman's freedom to choose
to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 6, 2006
Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr.
LAUTENBERG, Ms. STABENOW, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To protect, consistent with Roe v. Wade, a woman's freedom to choose
to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Freedom of Choice Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States was founded on core principles, such as liberty,
personal privacy, and equality, which ensure that individuals are free
to make their most intimate decisions without governmental interference
and discrimination.
(2) One of the most private and difficult decisions an individual makes
is whether to begin, prevent, continue, or terminate a pregnancy. Those
reproductive health decisions are best made by women, in consultation
with their loved ones and health care providers.
(3) In 1965, in Griswold v. Connecticut (381 U.S. 479), and in 1973, in
Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113) and Doe v. Bolton (410 U.S. 179), the Supreme
Court recognized that the right to privacy protected by the Constitution
encompasses the right of every woman to weigh the personal, moral, and
religious considerations involved in deciding whether to begin, prevent,
continue, or terminate a pregnancy.
(4) The Roe v. Wade decision carefully balances the rights of women to
make important reproductive decisions with the State's interest in potential
life. Under Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the right to privacy protects
a woman's decision to choose to terminate her pregnancy prior to fetal
viability, with the State permitted to ban abortion after fetal viability
except when necessary to protect a woman's life or health.
(5) These decisions have protected the health and lives of women in the
United States. Prior to the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, an estimated
1,200,000 women each year were forced to resort to illegal abortions,
despite the risk of unsanitary conditions, incompetent treatment, infection,
hemorrhage, disfiguration, and death. Before Roe, it is estimated that
thousands of women died annually in the United States as a result of illegal
abortions.
(6) In countries in which abortion remains illegal, the risk of maternal
mortality is high. According to the World Health Organization, of the
approximately 600,000 pregnancy-related deaths occurring annually around
the world, 80,000 are associated with unsafe abortions.
(7) The Roe v. Wade decision also expanded the opportunities for women
to participate equally in society. In 1992, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey
(505 U.S. 833), the Supreme Court observed that, `[t]he ability of women
to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has
been facilitated by their ability to control their reproductive lives.'.
(8) Even though the Roe v. Wade decision has stood for more than 30 years,
there are increasing threats to reproductive health and freedom emerging
from all branches and levels of government. In 2006, South Dakota became
the first State in more than 15 years to enact a ban on abortion in nearly
all circumstances. Supporters of this ban have admitted it is an attempt
to directly challenge Roe in the courts. Other States are considering
similar bans.
(9) Legal and practical barriers to the full range of reproductive services
endanger women's health and lives. Incremental restrictions on the right
to choose imposed by Congress and State legislatures have made access
to abortion care extremely difficult, if not impossible, for many women
across the country. Currently, 87 percent of the counties in the United
States have no abortion provider.
(10) While abortion should remain safe and legal, women should also have
more meaningful access to family planning services that prevent unintended
pregnancies, thereby reducing the need for abortion.
(11) To guarantee the protections of Roe v. Wade, Federal legislation
is necessary.
(12) Although Congress may not create constitutional rights without amending
the Constitution, Congress may, where authorized by its enumerated powers
and not prohibited by the Constitution, enact legislation to create and
secure statutory rights in areas of legitimate national concern.
(13) Congress has the affirmative power under section 8 of article I of
the Constitution and section 5 of the 14th amendment to the Constitution
to enact legislation to facilitate interstate commerce and to prevent
State interference with interstate commerce, liberty, or equal protection
of the laws.
(14) Federal protection of a woman's right to choose to prevent or terminate
a pregnancy falls within this affirmative power of Congress, in part,
because--
(A) many women cross State lines to obtain abortions and many more would
be forced to do so absent a constitutional right or Federal protection;
(B) reproductive health clinics are commercial actors that regularly
purchase medicine, medical equipment, and other necessary supplies from
out-of-State suppliers; and
(C) reproductive health clinics employ doctors, nurses, and other personnel
who travel across State lines in order to provide reproductive health
services to patients.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(1) GOVERNMENT- The term `government' includes a branch, department, agency,
instrumentality, or official (or other individual acting under color of
law) of the United States, a State, or a subdivision of a State.
(2) STATE- The term `State' means each of the States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and each territory or possession
of the United States.
(3) VIABILITY- The term `viability' means that stage of pregnancy when,
in the best medical judgment of the attending physician based on the particular
medical facts of the case before the physician, there is a reasonable
likelihood of the sustained survival of the fetus outside of the woman.
SEC. 4. INTERFERENCE WITH REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROHIBITED.
(a) Statement of Policy- It is the policy of the United States that every
woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate
a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after
fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman.
(b) Prohibition of Interference- A government may not--
(1) deny or interfere with a woman's right to choose--
(B) to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability; or
(C) to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary
to protect the life or health of the woman; or
(2) discriminate against the exercise of the rights set forth in paragraph
(1) in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services,
or information.
(c) Civil Action- An individual aggrieved by a violation of this section
may obtain appropriate relief (including relief against a government) in
a civil action.
SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision to any
person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of
this Act, or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances
other than those as to which the provision is held to be unconstitutional,
shall not be affected thereby.
SEC. 6. RETROACTIVE EFFECT.
This Act applies to every Federal, State, and local statute, ordinance,
regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action
enacted, adopted, or implemented before, on, or after the date of enactment
of this Act.
END
