Women's Rights Advocates Commemorate 31st Roe Anniversary, Introduce Freedom of Choice Act

by NOW Staff

Kim Gandy and other women's rights leaders joined U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) on Jan. 22, the 31st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, to announce the introduction of the Freedom of Choice Act (S. 2020/H.R. 3719), legislation that would codify the landmark Supreme Court decision protecting reproductive rights.

From left: Planned Parenthood President Gloria Feldt, NOW President Kim Gandy, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Kate Michelman, Feminist Majority Foundation Chair Eleanor Smeal and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).  Photo by Lisa Bennett

Outraged at the many steps that conservative forces have taken to roll back reproductive rights, feminist leaders noted that the passage of the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would be an important step toward permanently ensuring reproductive rights in the event that the Supreme Court allowed states to re-criminalize abortion.

"It would be nothing short of a national tragedy if the current administration, members of the U.S. Congress, and/or potential U.S. Supreme Court appointees were to take this basic right away from women in America," says Sarah Weddington, the attorney who argued Roe v. Wade before the Supreme Court. "And, frankly, think of what it would signal around the world, as so many countries look to the U.S. as a role model on important social issues such as these."

If passed and signed into law, FOCA would give women more choices than private clinics, because abortions could not be prohibited in public hospitals, and it would ensure safe, affordable abortion options for women serving in the military overseas. It would also guarantee that poor women would have access to Medicaid funding.

"The Freedom of Choice Act supercedes any law, regulation or local ordinance that impinges on a woman’s right to choose," said Boxer, who introduced the legislation with Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.J.). "We need to take steps to secure our right to choose. Anti-choice is anti-woman, anti-equality, and it demonstrates a lack of respect for the intelligence and compassion that women possess. It is time to write Roe v. Wade into law."

The full text of the bill is available online.