II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 317 

To guarantee that Americans have the freedom to make certain reproductive 

decisions without undue government interference. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2023 

Mr. KAINE (for himself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Ms. SINEMA, and Ms. COLLINS) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To guarantee that Americans have the freedom to make 

certain reproductive decisions without undue government 

interference. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reproductive Freedom 

5 for All Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 It is the purpose of this Act to guarantee that Ameri8 cans have the freedom to make certain reproductive deci9 sions without undue government interference, consistent 


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1 with the essential holdings of Griswold v. Connecticut (381 

2 U.S. 479 (1965)), Eisenstadt v. Baird (405 U.S. 438 

3 (1972)), Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)), Carey v. 

4 Population Services International (431 U.S. 678 (1977)), 

5 Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. 

6 Casey (505 U.S. 833 (1992)), and Whole Woman’s Health 

7 v. Hellerstedt (579 U.S. 582 (2016)). 

8 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress finds the following: 

10 (1) For decades, the Supreme Court of the 

11 United States has held that the liberty protected by 

12 the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of 

13 the United States encompasses a right to make cer14 tain reproductive decisions without undue govern15 ment interference. 

16 (2) While these precedents have advanced 

17 slightly different constitutional rationales, and have 

18 acknowledged that some government regulation is 

19 acceptable, they have created a society whereby 

20 Americans expect to make certain reproductive deci21 sions without undue government interference. Gen22 erations of American women have relied on the fact 

23 that they have the freedom to make such choices as 

24 a matter of fundamental personal right. 


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1 (3) The right to make certain reproductive deci2 sions without undue government interference should 

3 be guaranteed for all Americans, consistent with the 

4 Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protec5 tion and due process under the law. 

6 (4) The Supreme Court has reversed five dec7 ades of jurisprudence in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s 

8 Health Organization (142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022)), con9 cluding that questions related to the legality of abor10 tion services are a matter for legislative action rath11 er than constitutional protection. 

12 (5) In light of the Dobbs ruling that the legality 

13 of abortion services is now a matter of legislative ac14 tion, it is appropriate to enact the essential holdings 

15 of the cases referred to in section 2 so that Ameri16 cans are guaranteed the freedom to make the repro17 ductive decisions discussed therein. The absence of 

18 such a guarantee has a profound effect upon the 

19 quality of Americans’ lives, particularly the lives of 

20 women. As such, this action is an appropriate exer21 cise of the Congressional power established in sec22 tion 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Con23 stitution of the United States. By continuing to pro24 tect their reliance on fundamental reproductive 


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1 rights, such a guarantee will improve the general 

2 welfare for generations of American women. 

3 (6) Enacting this guarantee is also justified as 

4 congressional regulation of interstate commerce be5 cause contraception and abortion services are eco6 nomic transactions that frequently involve the ship7 ment of goods, the provision of services, and the 

8 travel of persons across State lines. 

9 SEC. 4. REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—All persons shall have the right 

11 to make certain reproductive decisions without undue gov12 ernment interference, consistent with the provisions of this 

13 Act. 

14 (b) AUTHORITY.—A State— 

15 (1) shall not prohibit an individual from obtain16 ing or using contraceptives or contraceptive care; 

17 (2) shall not impose an undue burden on the 

18 ability of a woman to choose whether or not to ter19 minate a pregnancy before fetal viability; 

20 (3) may regulate the termination of a preg21 nancy after fetal viability, provided that a State 

22 shall not prohibit the termination of a pregnancy 

23 that, in the appropriate medical judgment of the at24 tending health care practitioner or practitioners, is 


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1 medically indicated to protect the life or health of 

2 the pregnant woman; and 

3 (4) may enact reasonable regulations to further 

4 the health or safety of a woman seeking to terminate 

5 a pregnancy, unless such regulations impose an 

6 undue burden pursuant to paragraph (2). 

7 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

8 shall be construed to have any effect on laws regarding 

9 conscience protection. 

10 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT. 

11 The Attorney General of the United States or any 

12 person adversely affected by State laws passed in con13 travention of this Act may seek injunctive relief in a Fed14 eral district or State court. In any action or proceeding 

15 under this section, the court, in its discretion, may allow 

16 the prevailing party, other than the United States, a rea17 sonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs. 

18 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act: 

20 (1) FETAL VIABILITY.—The term ‘‘fetal viabil21 ity’’ means the time at which, in the appropriate 

22 medical judgment of the attending health care prac23 titioner or practitioners, there is a realistic possi24 bility of maintaining and nourishing a life outside 

25 the womb. 


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1 (2) REASONABLE.—The term ‘‘reasonable’’ 

2 with respect to a regulation referred to in paragraph 

3 (4) of section 4(b), means that the regulation is con4 sistent with the essential holdings of the cases re5 ferred to in section 2. 

6 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 

7 District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

8 Rico, and each other territory or possession of the 

9 United States, and any subdivision of any of the 

10 foregoing. 

11 (b) UNDUE BURDEN.—For purposes of this Act, an 

12 undue burden shall be deemed to exist, and the related 

13 provision of law shall be invalid under section 4, if the 

14 purpose or effect of such law is to place a substantial ob15 stacle in the path of a woman seeking to terminate a preg16 nancy before fetal viability. 

17 SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY. 

18 If any provision of this Act, or the application of such 

19 provision to any person or circumstance is held to be in20 valid, the remainder of this Act and the application of the 

21 provisions of such to any person or circumstance shall not 

22 be affected thereby. 

Æ 


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