New Federal Bill Would Wipe Out Every State’s Abortion Restrictions

Call it the “daughter” of FOCA, the Freedom of Choice Act, which was a major priority of abortion proponents during the Clinton years and endorsed by Barack Obama during his 2008 run for President. FOCA was designed to nullify all existing state abortion restrictions.

The new bill, the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” was introduced on February 13 in the Senate (S. 1696) and House (H.R. 3471) with numbers of co-sponsors, all of them Democrats, including our own Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.), the bill’s main sponsor stated upon introduction: “In states like Texas and Wisconsin, legislatures are passing bills with the false pretext of protecting health when their only objective is to obstruct and curtail access to safe and legal abortions and reproductive services. These laws are largely unconstitutional, and some measure of certainty and clarity is required to preempt these regulations and laws so women are not deterred in their very personal decisions based on their own values on how they want to use their constitutional rights.” He adds that the Women’s Health Protection Act is “a clear and certain response to” a “cascading wave of restrictions” on abortion enacted by the states.

Obviously, pro-abortion groups are stunned by the vast number of laws enacted in the states, including Wisconsin, which are common sense measures designed to provide women knowledge and safety for women.

According to Douglas Johnson, National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) Federal Legislative Director, “The new bill is labeled the ‘Women’s Health Protection Act,’ but it would more accurately be titled the ‘Abortion on Demand Until Birth Protection Act.’ Under this bill, the unborn child has no more rights, from conception until birth, than a malignant tumor. This is an extreme pro-abortion ideology far removed from the views of the majority of Americans.”

Mary Spaulding Balch, NRLC Director of State Legislation states that: “The bill, if enacted and upheld by the federal courts, would generally prohibit any level of government — federal, state, or local — from applying any regulations that ‘single out abortion and that do not apply to ‘medically comparable procedures.'” Blumenthal says it would be “for doctors to decide” what “medically comparable” means.

The bill is backed by all major pro-abortion groups, including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and NARAL. President Obama has not yet taken a position and it is unclear if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will allow a vote on the measure. Blumenthal told the newspaper Roll Call that, “As the election approaches, I think the voters are going to want to know where legislators stand on these issues.” Indeed, Senator Blumenthal, and we know they do not stand for abortion on demand until birth.

Barbara Lyons