The Honorable Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Jerrold Nadler
United States House of Representatives
2334 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Senator Boxer and Representative Nadler:
We write to convey the American Civil Liberties Union’s strong support for The Freedom of Choice Act (“FOCA”), which would guarantee reproductive freedom for future generations of American women.
Since the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, anti-choice legislators in the states and in Congress have systematically eroded reproductive rights. Just last month, the South Dakota legislature passed, and the governor signed, a ban on almost all abortions. Other state and federal restrictions threaten to make reproductive freedom an empty promise for many American women, and many of these restrictions fall most heavily on low-income women and young women. For example, 33 states and the District of Columbia currently restrict low-income women’s access to abortion; several federal laws, such as the Hyde Amendment, bar access to abortion care for low-income women who rely on the federal government for their health care. Likewise, 44 states restrict young women’s access to abortion by mandating parental notice or consent.
The Freedom of Choice Act would restore the reproductive rights recognized in Roe, before state and federal restrictions chipped away at those rights. By superceding existing anti-choice laws that restrict the right to choose abortion, and prohibiting any level of government from enacting measures that deny or interfere with a woman's right to choose to continue or end a pregnancy, FOCA would stop the erosion of a woman’s right to choose.
At a time when Roe hangs in the balance, FOCA is essential to guarantee reproductive freedom in federal law for future generations of American women. The ACLU thanks you for introducing this critical bill.
Sincerely,
Caroline
Fredrickson
Director
Gregory T.
Nojeim
Associate
Director and Chief Legislative Counsel