Freedom of Choice Act
Encyclopedia
The Freedom of Choice Act (/) was a bill
in the 110th United States Congress
which "declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child; terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or terminate a pregnancy after viability when necessary to protect her life or her health."
It prohibits a federal, state, or local governmental entity from denying or interfering with a woman's right to exercise such choices; or discriminating against the exercise of those rights in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information. Provides that such prohibition shall apply retroactively.
It also authorizes an individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act to obtain appropriate relief, including relief against a governmental entity, in a civil action."
Earlier versions of the bill were introduced in 1989 and 1993.
based, in part, on the crossing of state lines by abortion providers, women seeking abortions, and medical supplies used in abortions.
, and originally co-sponsored by Congressman James Greenwood
, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, and Congresswoman Diana Degette
. In the Senate, it was sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer
, and originally co-sponsored by Senators Jon Corzine
, Patty Murray
, Frank Lautenberg
, Hillary Rodham Clinton
, Maria Cantwell
, Jim Jeffords
, Joseph Lieberman, Dianne Feinstein
, Paul Sarbanes
, and Barbara Mikulski
. The bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives
on January 21, 2004, and in the United States Senate
on January 22, 2004.
During his tenure in the United States Senate
, Barack Obama
co-sponsored the 2007 Senate version of the Freedom of Choice Act . Responding to a question regarding how he would preserve reproductive rights in a speech given to the Planned Parenthood
Action Fund on July 17, 2007, Obama declared, "The first thing I'd do, as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do."
In a press conference on April 29, 2009, President Obama said that although he supports a woman's right to choose, passage of the Freedom of Choice Act was "not highest legislative priority."
president Nancy Keenan
as a bill to "codify Roe v. Wade
" which would "repeal the Bush-backed Federal Abortion Ban," referring to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
, "and other federal restrictions". Opponents of FOCA assert that it would, if passed, invalidate every restriction on abortion nationwide, including parental notification laws, informed consent laws, and bans on partial birth abortion.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
has been strongly opposed to the Freedom of Choice Act. According to the USCCB's
Secretariat for Pro-Life
Activities, FOCA would not only "codify the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade
" but "in allowing and promoting abortion, FOCA goes far beyond even Roe."
Opponents of FOCA assert that the bill would force taxpayers to subsidize abortion and would jeopardize existing laws prohibiting abortions in public hospitals and barring non-physicians from performing abortions. Others estimate that the passage of FOCA would result in approximately 125,000 more abortions being performed annually in the United States. Some opponents argue that FOCA would effectively repeal the Hyde Amendment
, a federal law which bars the use of federal funding for abortions in some cases. Legal scholar Douglas Kmiec
, a pro-life Republican, disagrees with the latter assertion, noting that the Hyde Amendment is renewed annually by Congress; Kmiec argues that this legislation would not supersede it.
Those who oppose the Act have interpreted it as an attempt to obligate religious hospitals to either "do abortions or close", while FOCA supporters argue that existing conscience clause laws would protect religious hospitals. In early 2009, Catholic News Service asserted that in its interpretation of the legislation, FOCA neither poses any such risk to Catholic hospitals, nor would require religious hospitals to participate in abortion. Opponents, however, assert that conscience clauses are weak and easily reinterpreted, and do not explicitly allow religious hospitals to ban the abortion procedure within the hospital.
The pro-life organization Americans United for Life (AUL)
has begun a petition called Fight FOCA which it plans to send to Congress if the Act is reintroduced in the 111th Congress.
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
in the 110th United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
which "declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child; terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or terminate a pregnancy after viability when necessary to protect her life or her health."
It prohibits a federal, state, or local governmental entity from denying or interfering with a woman's right to exercise such choices; or discriminating against the exercise of those rights in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information. Provides that such prohibition shall apply retroactively.
It also authorizes an individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act to obtain appropriate relief, including relief against a governmental entity, in a civil action."
Earlier versions of the bill were introduced in 1989 and 1993.
Findings
The bill states in its findings section that Congress has the affirmative power to legislate abortionAbortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
based, in part, on the crossing of state lines by abortion providers, women seeking abortions, and medical supplies used in abortions.
Sponsorship
The Freedom of Choice Act was sponsored in the House of Representatives by Congressman Jerrold NadlerJerrold Nadler
Jerrold Lewis "Jerry" Nadler is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1992. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes the west side of Manhattan from the Upper West Side down to Battery Park, including the site where the World Trade Center stood...
, and originally co-sponsored by Congressman James Greenwood
James C. Greenwood
James Charles "Jim" Greenwood is an American politician in the Republican Party. He represented Pennsylvania's Eighth Congressional District for six terms in the United States House of Representatives....
, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, and Congresswoman Diana Degette
Diana DeGette
Diana Louise DeGette is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997, and a Chief Deputy Whip. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district is based in Denver.-Early life, education and career:...
. In the Senate, it was sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
, and originally co-sponsored by Senators Jon Corzine
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...
, Patty Murray
Patty Murray
Patricia Lynn "Patty" Murray is the senior United States Senator from Washington and a member of the Democratic Party. Murray was first elected to the Senate in 1992, becoming Washington's first female senator...
, Frank Lautenberg
Frank Lautenberg
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg is the senior United States Senator from New Jersey and a member of the Democratic Party. Previously, he was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Automatic Data Processing, Inc.-Early life, career, and family:...
, Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, Maria Cantwell
Maria Cantwell
Maria E. Cantwell is the junior United States Senator from the state of Washington and a member of the Democratic Party....
, Jim Jeffords
Jim Jeffords
James Merrill "Jim" Jeffords is a former U.S. Senator from Vermont. He served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become an independent. He retired from the Senate in 2006.-Background:...
, Joseph Lieberman, Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
, Paul Sarbanes
Paul Sarbanes
Paul Spyros Sarbanes , a Democrat, is a former United States Senator who represented the state of Maryland. Sarbanes was the longest-serving senator in Maryland history, having served from 1977 until 2007. He did not seek re-election in 2006, when he was succeeded by fellow Democrat Ben Cardin...
, and Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Mikulski, a former U.S. Representative, is the longest-serving female senator in U.S...
. The bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
on January 21, 2004, and in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on January 22, 2004.
Status
The bills were referred to the Judiciary Committees of the respective Houses. Neither bill received further action in the 108th Congress. The bills were reintroduced in the 110th Congress, but, like their predecessors, were referred to committee without further action. As of June 2009, the bills have not been introduced in the 111th Congress.During his tenure in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
co-sponsored the 2007 Senate version of the Freedom of Choice Act . Responding to a question regarding how he would preserve reproductive rights in a speech given to the Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
Action Fund on July 17, 2007, Obama declared, "The first thing I'd do, as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do."
In a press conference on April 29, 2009, President Obama said that although he supports a woman's right to choose, passage of the Freedom of Choice Act was "not highest legislative priority."
Description and criticism
The bill is described by NARAL Pro-Choice AmericaNARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America , formerly the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, then National Abortion Rights Action League, and later National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, is an organization in the United States that engages in political action to oppose...
president Nancy Keenan
Nancy Keenan
Nancy Keenan is the current president of the United States-based reproductive/abortion rights organization NARAL Pro-Choice America....
as a bill to "codify Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
" which would "repeal the Bush-backed Federal Abortion Ban," referring to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 is a United States law prohibiting a form of late-term abortion that the Act calls "partial-birth abortion", often referred to in medical literature as intact dilation and extraction...
, "and other federal restrictions". Opponents of FOCA assert that it would, if passed, invalidate every restriction on abortion nationwide, including parental notification laws, informed consent laws, and bans on partial birth abortion.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
has been strongly opposed to the Freedom of Choice Act. According to the USCCB's
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
Secretariat for Pro-Life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
Activities, FOCA would not only "codify the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
" but "in allowing and promoting abortion, FOCA goes far beyond even Roe."
Opponents of FOCA assert that the bill would force taxpayers to subsidize abortion and would jeopardize existing laws prohibiting abortions in public hospitals and barring non-physicians from performing abortions. Others estimate that the passage of FOCA would result in approximately 125,000 more abortions being performed annually in the United States. Some opponents argue that FOCA would effectively repeal the Hyde Amendment
Hyde Amendment
In U.S. politics, the Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of certain federal funds to pay for abortions. It is not a permanent law, rather it is a "rider" that, in various forms, has been routinely attached to annual appropriations bills since 1976...
, a federal law which bars the use of federal funding for abortions in some cases. Legal scholar Douglas Kmiec
Douglas Kmiec
Douglas W. Kmiec is an American legal scholar, author, and former U.S. ambassador. He is the Caruso Family Chair and Professor of Constitutional Law at Pepperdine University School of Law. Kmiec came to prominence during the United States presidential election, 2008 when, although a Republican, he...
, a pro-life Republican, disagrees with the latter assertion, noting that the Hyde Amendment is renewed annually by Congress; Kmiec argues that this legislation would not supersede it.
Those who oppose the Act have interpreted it as an attempt to obligate religious hospitals to either "do abortions or close", while FOCA supporters argue that existing conscience clause laws would protect religious hospitals. In early 2009, Catholic News Service asserted that in its interpretation of the legislation, FOCA neither poses any such risk to Catholic hospitals, nor would require religious hospitals to participate in abortion. Opponents, however, assert that conscience clauses are weak and easily reinterpreted, and do not explicitly allow religious hospitals to ban the abortion procedure within the hospital.
The pro-life organization Americans United for Life (AUL)
Americans United for Life
Americans United for Life is an American pro-life public interest law firm and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1971, the group advocates protection of human life at all stages of life, from conception to death, and is involved in related issues of health and biotechnology...
has begun a petition called Fight FOCA which it plans to send to Congress if the Act is reintroduced in the 111th Congress.
External links
- Freedom of Choice Act (Introduced in Senate) - Text of Senate bill S 2020 IS (2004)
- Freedom of Choice Act (Introduced in House) - Text of House bill HR 3719 IH (2004)
- Freedom of Choice Act (Introduced in Senate) - Text of Senate bill S 1173 IS (2007)
- Freedom of Choice Act (Introduced in House) - Text of House bill HR 1964 IH (2007)