I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3719
To prohibit, consistent with Roe v. Wade, the interference by the government 
with a woman’s right to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 21, 2004
Mr. NADLER (for himself, Mr. GREENWOOD, Ms. SLAUGHTER, and Ms. 
DEGETTE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To prohibit, consistent with Roe v. Wade, the interference 
by the government with a woman’s right to choose to 
bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, and for other 
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 the prin-
ciples of individual liberty, personal privacy, and 
equality. Such principles ensure that each individual 
is free to make the most intimate decisions free from 
governmental interference and discrimination. 
(2) A woman’s decision to commence, prevent, 
continue, or terminate a pregnancy is one of the 
most intimate decisions an individual ever faces. As 
such, reproductive health decisions are best made by 
the woman, in consultation with her medical pro-
vider or loved ones, without governmental inter-
ference. 
(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 Su-
preme Court recognized the right to privacy pro-
tected by the Constitution and that such right en-
compassed the right of every woman to weigh the 
personal, moral, and religious considerations in-
volved in deciding whether to commence, prevent, 
continue, or terminate a pregnancy. 
(4) The Roe v. Wade decision carefully bal-
anced the rights of women to make important repro-
ductive decisions with the state’s interest in poten-
tial life. Under Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, a
woman’s right to choose to terminate her pregnancy 
is absolute only prior to fetal viability, with the state 
permitted to ban abortion after fetal viability except 
when necessary to protect the life or health of a 
woman. 
(5) These decisions have protected the health 
and lives of women in the United States. Prior to 
the Roe v. Wade decision, an estimated 1,200,000 
women each year were forced to resort to illegal 
abortions, despite the known hazards that included 
unsanitary conditions, incompetent treatment, infec-
tion, hemorrhage, disfiguration, and death. 
(6) According to one estimate, prior to 1973, as 
many as 5,000 women died each year in the United 
States as a result of having an illegal abortion. 
(7) In countries where abortion remains illegal, 
the risk of complications and 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. 
(8) The Roe v. Wade decision expanded the op-
portunities for women to participate equally in soci-
ety. 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 eco-
nomic and social life of the Nation has been facili-
tated by their ability to control their reproductive 
lives.’’. 
(9) Even though the Roe v. Wade decision 
guaranteed a constitutional right to choose whether 
to terminate or continue a pregnancy, threats to 
that right remain, including possible reversal or fur-
ther erosion by the Supreme Court of the right, and 
legislative and administrative policies at all levels of 
government that make abortion more difficult and 
dangerous to obtain. 
(10) 87 percent of the counties in the United 
States have no abortion provider. 
(11) Legal barriers to the full range of repro-
ductive services endanger the health and lives of 
women. 
(12) Women should have meaningful access to 
reproductive health services to prevent unintended 
pregnancies, thereby reducing the need for abor-
tions. 
(13) To ensure that a woman’s right to choose 
whether to terminate a pregnancy is available to all 
women in the United States, Federal protection for 
that right is necessary.
(C) reproductive health clinics employ doc-
tors, nurses, and other personnel who travel 
across State lines in order to provide reproduc-
tive health services to patients. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘government’’ 
includes a branch, department, agency, instrumen-
tality, or official (or other individual acting under 
color of law) of the United States, a State, or a sub-
division of a State. 
(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, and each territory or pos-
session 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 physi-
cian, 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 govern-
ment may not—
(1) deny or interfere with a woman’s right to 
choose—
(A) to bear a child; 
(B) to terminate a pregnancy prior to via-
bility; 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 infor-
mation. 
(c) CIVIL ACTION.—An individual aggrieved by a vio-
lation of this section may obtain appropriate relief (includ-
ing 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 un-
constitutional, the remainder of this Act, or the applica-
tion of such provision to persons or circumstances other 
than those as to which the provision is held to be unconsti-
tutional, shall not be affected thereby. 
SEC. 6. RETROACTIVE EFFECT. 
This Act applies to every Federal, State, and local 
statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, deci-
sion, policy, practice, or other action enacted, adopted, or 
implemented before, on, or after the date of enactment 
of this Act.
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