Support the Freedom of Choice Act

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is working to guarantee the right to choose through the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).  It is essential that the federal government step in to protect women’s reproductive choice since the states have widely differing protections for reproductive freedom.  The freedom to choose should not be limited to women who are fortunate enough to live in a pro-choice state.

The Right to Choose Continues to Be Threatened

Although Roe v. Wade guaranteed a woman’s constitutional right to choose, threats to this right, including legislative and administrative policies at all levels of government, have made it increasingly difficult to exercise this right, endangering women’s health and lives throughout the nation.

• On April 18, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal abortion ban in Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Gonzales v. Carhart, effectively overturning a core tenet of Roe v. Wade, and abandoning more than 30 years of protection for women’s health
• The new makeup of the Supreme Court further threatens Roe’s stability.    In the dissent to Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, Justice Ginsberg warned that this court not only tolerates government interference in women’s health – it applauds it.
• Since 2001, state legislators have considered almost 3,300 anti-choice measures and more than 250 of these have been enacted.   More than 514 anti-choice measures have been enacted in the states since 1995.  Many more threats are expected as a direct result of this decision.
• Eighty-seven percent of the counties in the United States do not have an abortion provider.

FOCA Will Protect a Woman’s Right to Choose

FOCA states that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose.  FOCA will protect this right by prohibiting state and federal government entities from

(1) denying or interfering with a woman’s right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman

(2) discriminating against a woman’s exercise of these rights in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information

The legislation would invalidate existing and future laws that interfere with or discriminate against the exercise of the rights protected.  It also would provide an individual aggrieved by a violation of the act a private right of civil action in order to obtain appropriate relief. 

In light of the recent Supreme Court decision undermining the core protections of Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood will redouble its efforts to urge passage of FOCA in order to protect women’s health and secure the right to choose for future generations.  For more information, contact the PPFA Government Relations Department at 202-973-4848.