A bipartisan group of senators is proposing pro-choice legislation that would essentially prohibit states from barring abortions prior to the point of viability.
The text of the bill says that states “shall not impose an undue burden on the ability of a woman to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability.”
“For purposes of this Act, an undue burden shall be deemed to exist, and the related provision of law shall be invalid under section 4, if the purpose or effect of such law is to place a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability,” the measure reads.
The legislation says that states would be allowed to regulate abortions that occur post-viability, as long as the state does not prohibit abortions deemed necessary for the sake of a pregnant woman’s life or health.
In June, the Supreme Court issued a decision that declared, “The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.”
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona are pushing the “Reproductive Freedom for All Act.”
“Every American should have autonomy over their own health care decisions, and the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs has made it imperative for Congress to restore women’s reproductive rights. I’m proud to introduce bipartisan legislation with my colleagues to write into law the protections provided through Roe and Casey as well as affirming access to contraception provided in Griswold and other cases,” Murkowski said, according to a press release. “For five decades, reproductive health care decisions were centered with the individual – we cannot go back in time in limiting personal freedoms for women.”