Abortion Rights
Respect Women’s Decisions Act
Summary: The Respect Women’s Decisions Act would codify the fundamental right to abortion.
Background Summary
There is no Supreme Court ruling that has been subjected to such a well-organized and well-funded attack as Roe v. Wade. Since it was decided in 1973, Roe has been under constant attack. In just the past few years alone, state legislatures have enacted hundreds of measures restricting abortion.
Roe may be overturned soon. Anti-abortion justices now control a majority on the Court.
A Supreme Court decision overturning Roe would not by itself make abortion illegal in the United States. Instead, a reversal of Roe would remove federal constitutional protection and give the states full power to set abortion policy.
If Roe was overturned, many states have laws on the books that might automatically criminalize all abortions. Each state depends on its own circumstances. Some states have abortion bans on the books that have never been repealed or blocked by the courts, some states have abortion bans that have been blocked by courts, and many states are highly vulnerable to the enactment of new bans by their legislatures. All told, perhaps 30 to 40 states might criminalize abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Without access to safe, legal abortions, women will die. Maternal mortality dropped dramatically after Roe was decided in 1973. In the year after New York legalized abortion, maternal mortality decreased by 45 percent in New York City. Before Roe, an estimated 5,000 women died every year from the complications of illegal abortions. Throughout history, laws have never stopped abortions and without access to safe, early abortion, women will again turn to back-alley abortions—and thousands will die.
Without Roe, women and their doctors will be sent to prison. Women, their doctors, other healthcare workers, and anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion could be prosecuted and sentenced to long prison terms without the protections of Roe. For example, under Alabama law, those who “aid or abet” an abortion may be sentenced to jail for up to 12 months with “hard labor.” Laws in Arizona and Oklahoma punish those who participate in an abortion procedure with two to five years in prison. Abortion is classified as a felony in Michigan, Mississippi and North Carolina. Before Roe, police raided the offices of doctors and arrested physicians, nurses and patients and, without Roe, this practice would resume.
States can and should enact statutes to protect abortion rights. Seven states have already codified the fundamental right to abortion: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada and Washington. And polls have always shown that Americans overwhelmingly support the ruling in Roe v. Wade.
Model Legislation
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This Act shall be called the “Respect Women’s Decisions Act.”
SECTION 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE
(A) FINDINGS—The legislature finds that:
1) In the case of Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S.113 (1973), the United States Supreme Court found that women’s fundamental right of privacy protects their right to decide whether to have an abortion.
2) Today, about half of pregnancies are unintended; about 40 percent of those end in abortion.
3) The decision to bear a child or obtain an abortion prior to the viability of the fetus should belong to the pregnant woman in consultation with her physician.
4) As Roe v. Wade made clear, a fetus is not a “person.”
5) A pregnant woman’s life and health are paramount and cannot be compromised as a result of any law or regulation governing abortion.
(B) PURPOSE—This law is enacted to protect a woman’s fundamental right to make the very personal decision of whether to obtain an abortion.
SECTION 3. GUARANTEE OF REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
After Section XXX, the following new section XXX shall be inserted:
(A) Every individual has a fundamental right to choose or refuse contraception or sterilization.
(B) A pregnant person has a fundamental right to choose to carry a pregnancy to term, give birth to a child, or terminate a pregnancy.
(C) The state shall not, in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information, deny or interfere with an individual’s fundamental rights, including individuals under state control or supervision, to:
1) Choose or refuse contraception or sterilization; or
2) Choose to carry a pregnancy to term, give birth to a child, or terminate a pregnancy.
(D) The state shall not discriminate in the protection or enforcement of these fundamental rights on the basis of sex, disability, race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, marital status, national origin, immigration status, religion, or sexual orientation.
(E) Any state or local official who is charged with violating provisions of this section shall be subject to an action in federal or state court for injunctive relief and damages. Such action may be brought by any person or entity that may be aggrieved by such official’s actions.
SECTION 4. REPEAL
The following are repealed: [If there are provisions in existing law that are inconsistent with this Act, this section should repeal them. Examples of such language include pre-Roe bans on abortion or statements of legislative policy expressing disagreement with the Roe decision.]
SECTION 5. SEVERABILITY
The provisions of this Act shall be severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision is declared to be invalid or is preempted by federal law or regulation, the validity of the remainder of this Act shall not be affected.
SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 20XX.