Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act

Bill: 118-hr-782
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Fletcher, Lizzie [D-TX-7]
Introduced: 2023-02-02
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Subjects: Abortion

Civil actions and liability

Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation

Drug therapy

Health care coverage and access

Health personnel

Right of privacy

Sex and reproductive health

Women's health
Latest action: action_date: 2023-02-10
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-02-02
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act</b></p> <p>This bill prohibits anyone acting under state law from interfering with a person's ability to access out-of-state abortion services. (<i>Abortion services</i> include the use of any drugs that are approved to terminate pregnancies and any health care services related to an abortion, whether or not the services are provided at the same time or on the same day as the abortion.)</p> <p>Specifically, the bill prohibits any person acting under state law from preventing, restricting, impeding, or retaliating against</p> <ul> <li> health care providers who provide legal abortion services to out-of-state residents, </li> <li> any person or entity who helps health care providers to provide such services, </li> <li> any person who travels to another state to obtain such services, </li> <li>any person or entity who helps another person travel to another state to obtain such services, or</li> <li>the movement in interstate commerce of drugs that are approved to terminate pregnancies.</li> </ul> <p>The Department of Justice may enforce this bill through civil actions; the bill also establishes a private right of action for violations.</p>

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 782 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 2, 2023 Mrs. Fletcher (for herself, Mr. Raskin , Ms. Strickland , Ms. Adams , Mr. Allred , Mr. Auchincloss , Ms. Balint , Ms. Barragán , Mrs. Beatty , Mr. Beyer , Mr. Bera , Mr. Blumenauer , Ms. Blunt Rochester , Ms. Bonamici , Mr. Bowman , Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania , Ms. Brownley , Ms. Budzinski , Ms. Bush , Mr. Carbajal , Mr. Cárdenas , Mr. Carter of Louisiana , Mr. Casar , Mr. Casten , Ms. Castor of Florida , Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick , Ms. Chu , Mr. Cicilline , Ms. Clarke of New York , Mr. Cleaver , Mr. Connolly , Mr. Correa , Ms. Craig , Ms. Crockett , Mr. Crow , Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania , Ms. DeGette , Ms. DeLauro , Ms. DelBene , Mr. Deluzio , Mr. DeSaulnier , Mrs. Dingell , Mr. Doggett , Ms. Escobar , Ms. Eshoo , Mr. Espaillat , Mr. Evans , Mr. Foster , Mrs. Foushee , Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida , Mr. Frost , Mr. Garamendi , Ms. Garcia of Texas , Mr. Robert Garcia of California , Mr. Gomez , Mr. Gottheimer , Mr. Green of Texas , Mrs. Hayes , Mr. Higgins of New York , Mr. Himes , Mr. Horsford , Mr. Huffman , Mr. Ivey , Ms. Jackson Lee , Ms. Jacobs , Ms. Jayapal , Mr. Johnson of Georgia , Ms. Kamlager-Dove , Ms. Kelly of Illinois , Mr. Khanna , Mr. Kildee , Mr. Kilmer , Mr. Kim of New Jersey , Ms. Kuster , Mr. Landsman , Mr. Larsen of Washington , Mr. Larson of Connecticut , Ms. Lee of California , Ms. Leger Fernandez , Mr. Levin , Mr. Lieu , Ms. Lofgren , Mr. Lynch , Mr. Magaziner , Ms. Manning , Ms. Matsui , Mrs. McBath , Ms. McCollum , Mr. McGarvey , Mr. McGovern , Mr. Meeks , Ms. Meng , Ms. Moore of Wisconsin , Mr. Morelle , Mr. Moskowitz , Mr. Moulton , Mr. Mullin , Mr. Nadler , Mrs. Napolitano , Mr. Neguse , Ms. Norton , Ms. Ocasio-Cortez , Ms. Omar , Mr. Pallone , Mr. Panetta , Mr. Payne , Mr. Peters , Ms. Pettersen , Mr. Phillips , Ms. Pingree , Mr. Pocan , Ms. Porter , Ms. Pressley , Ms. Ross , Mr. Ruiz , Mr. Ruppersberger , Mr. Ryan , Ms. Salinas , Ms. Sánchez , Mr. Sarbanes , Ms. Scanlon , Ms. Schakowsky , Mr. Schiff , Mr. Schneider , Ms. Scholten , Ms. Schrier , Mr. Scott of Virginia , Ms. Sewell , Mr. Sherman , Ms. Sherrill , Mr. Smith of Washington , Mr. Sorensen , Mr. Soto , Ms. Stansbury , Ms. Stevens , Mr. Swalwell , Mr. Takano , Mr. Thompson of California , Ms. Titus , Ms. Tlaib , Mr. Tonko , Ms. Tokuda , Mrs. Torres of California , Mr. Torres of New York , Mrs. Trahan , Mr. Trone , Ms. Underwood , Mr. Veasey , Ms. Velázquez , Ms. Wasserman Schultz , Mrs. Watson Coleman , Ms. Wexton , Ms. Wild , Ms. Williams of Georgia , Ms. Wilson of Florida , and Ms. Perez ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To prohibit the interference, under color of State law, with the provision of interstate abortion services, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act . 2. Interference with interstate abortion services prohibited (a) Interference prohibited No person acting under color of State law, including any person who, by operation of a provision of State law, is permitted to implement or enforce State law, may prevent, restrict, or impede, or retaliate against, in any manner— (1) a health care provider’s ability to provide, initiate, or otherwise enable an abortion service that is lawful in the State in which the service is to be provided to a patient who does not reside in that State; (2) any person or entity’s ability to assist a health care provider to provide, initiate, or otherwise enable an abortion service that is lawful in the State in which the service is to be provided to a patient who does not reside in that State, if such assistance does not violate the law of that State; (3) any person’s ability to travel across a State line for the purpose of obtaining an abortion service that is lawful in the State in which the service is to be provided; (4) any person’s or entity’s ability to assist another person traveling across a State line for the purpose of obtaining an abortion service that is lawful in the State in which the service is to be provided; or (5) the movement in interstate commerce, in accordance with Federal law or regulation, of any drug approved or licensed by the Food and Drug Administration for the termination of a pregnancy. (b) Enforcement by Attorney General The Attorney General may bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court against any person who violates subsection (a) for declaratory and injunctive relief. (c) Private right of action Any person who is harmed by a violation of subsection (a) may bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court against the person who violated such subsection for declaratory and injunctive relief, and for such compensatory damages as the court determines appropriate, including for economic losses and for emotional pain and suffering. The court may, in addition, award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of the action to a prevailing plaintiff. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) The term abortion service means— (A) an abortion, including the use of any drug approved or licensed by the Food and Drug Administration for the termination of a pregnancy; and (B) any health care service related to or provided in conjunction with an abortion (whether or not provided at the same time or on the same day as the abortion). (2) The term health care provider means any entity or individual (including any physician, certified nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, or pharmacist) that is— (A) engaged or seeks to engage in the delivery of health care services, including abortion services; and (B) licensed or certified to perform such service under applicable State law. (3) The term drug has the meaning given such term in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ( 21 U.S.C. 321 ). (4) The term State includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, each Indian tribe, and each territory or possession of the United States. (e) Severability If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision to any person, entity, government, or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or the application of such provision to all other persons, entities, governments, or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby. (f) Rule of construction Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the fundamental right to travel within the United States, including the District of Columbia, Tribal lands, and the territories of the United States, nor to limit any existing enforcement authority of the Attorney General or any existing remedies available to address a violation of such right.