Say No to the Freedom of Choice Act

During the campaign President Obama was asked what he would do to preserve reproductive rights of women, he response was "The first thing I'd do, as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do."

As written, the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is a shallow piece of legislation that was introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer and co-sponsored by then Sen. Barak Obama. The stated policy of the act declares that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman.

A week following the November elections, the U.S Conference of Bishops, headed by Cardinal Francis George, released a statement that the Freedom of Choice Act “…was so sweeping and draconian that it would not only repeal every single state restriction on abortion, it would seriously jeopardize the right of Catholic hospitals and doctors to opt out of performing abortions.”

Supporters of FOCA state that a religious facility is protected by Federal Conscience Law and does not mean that simply because a they may receive public funding will it require them to perform abortions. This is true, but the FOCA contains a provision that states that any individual aggrieved by a violation of this act may obtain appropriate relief in a civil action. Meaning that it would allow one lawsuit after another against any facility refusing to perform abortions. If concerns for the religious facilities were genuine then specific language protecting them would be written in to this law. It is not and that speaks volumes.

FOCA states that the fetal viability is the stage of the pregnancy where there is reasonable likelihood of sustained survival of the fetus outside of the woman. This means the repeal of the ban of the partial birth abortion. Recent polls have shown that American support of banning partial birth abortions remain above the 70% mark. No one, except Barbara Boxer, can say that partial birth abortion procedure is not inhumane and a violent act against the unborn.

Recently, a 14 year old girl went to a Plan Parenthood facility in Cincinnati, OH, with her soccer coach, 21 year old John Haller. Haller had been engaging in sexual activity with the girl for more than a year. Instead of calling the girl’s parents (and the police), Plan Parenthood called Haller’s cell phone and failed to verify that they were talking to the girl’s parents. Plan Parenthood performed the abortion and sent the girl home with a bag of condoms. Laws protecting minors exist for a reason and this is one of them. FOCA would reverse any regulation restricting access of abortions to minors without parental notification. Currently 36 states has this law and would be subject to repeal these laws or face threat of civil action.

FOCA finds its justification for this congressional act from Congress’ authority over interstate commerce. The act finds since many facilities accept patients who have to cross state borders, employs doctors and nurses who cross state lines to go to work and buy equipment from out of state providers that this gives Congress the right to regulate these facilities based on the Interstate Commerce rules in the Constitution. This stretch of section 8 of Article 1 of the constitution allows the federal government to overturn any state law it might have restricting abortion, such as the 36 states that currently have parental notification laws. Even beyond abortion, this act sets a precident that allows the federal government to infridge on a wide ranging areas currently in the state's jurisdiction. Certainly, if this law is sign, expect a battle in the Supreme Court to rule on its constitutionality.

The Freedom of Choice Act may appeal to the Democratic Party's core constituency but hardly reflect the values of everyday Americans. FOCA is bad legislation and should not be supported. Please contact your representative in US House and Senate and urge them to vote against this act.