Freedom of Choice Act
Latest action · Mar 1, 2004 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 21, 2004
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Freedom of Choice Act - Declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to: (1) bear a child; (2) terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or (3) terminate it after fetal viability when necessary to protect her life or her health.
Prohibits a governmental entity from : (1) denying or interfering with a woman's right to exercise such choices; or (2) discriminating against the exercise of those rights in its regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information.
Authorizes an individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act to obtain appropriate relief, including relief against a governmental entity in a civil action.
States that this Act applies to every Federal, State, and local statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action enacted, adopted, or implemented before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
Cosponsors 87
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 21, 2004 to Jul 22, 2004; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CO | Diana DeGette | Original | Jan 21, 2004 |
| R-PA | James C. Greenwood | Original | Jan 21, 2004 |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Original | Jan 21, 2004 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Bob Filner | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-WA | Brian Baird | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-TX | Chris Bell | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-OH | Dennis J. Kucinich | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-CA | George Miller | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Henry A. Waxman | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Jane Harman | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-IL | Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-MI | John Conyers, Jr. | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-TX | Lloyd Doggett | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Lynn C. Woolsey | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-MN | Martin Olav Sabo | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| R-CT | Nancy L. Johnson | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Nancy Pelosi | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-HI | Neil Abercrombie | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-FL | Peter Deutsch | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-FL | Robert Wexler | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-ME | Thomas H. Allen | Feb 3, 2004 | |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-MA | Barney Frank | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Carolyn McCarthy | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-OR | David Wu | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Eliot L. Engel | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Gregory W. Meeks | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Lucille Roybal-Allard | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Major R. Owens | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-CO | Mark Udall | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Maurice D. Hinchey | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Nita M. Lowey | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Robert T. Matsui | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-OH | Stephanie Tubbs Jones | Feb 24, 2004 | |
| D-TX | Eddie Bernice Johnson | Feb 26, 2004 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Feb 26, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Jose E. Serrano | Feb 26, 2004 | |
| D-TX | Martin Frost | Feb 26, 2004 | |
| D-NV | Shelley Berkley | Feb 26, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Timothy H. Bishop | Feb 26, 2004 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Mar 4, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Fortney Pete Stark | Mar 4, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Mar 4, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Howard L. Berman | Mar 4, 2004 | |
| D-VA | James P. Moran | Mar 4, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Lois Capps | Mar 4, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Charles B. Rangel | Mar 10, 2004 | |
| D-PA | Joseph M. Hoeffel | Mar 10, 2004 | |
| D-IN | Julia Carson | Mar 10, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Linda T. Sánchez | Mar 10, 2004 | |
| D-NJ | Rush Holt | Mar 10, 2004 | |
| D-MO | Wm. Lacy Clay | Mar 10, 2004 | |
| D-MA | Bill Delahunt | Mar 18, 2004 | |
| D-TX | Charles A. Gonzalez | Mar 18, 2004 | |
| D-NJ | Steven R. Rothman | Mar 18, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Anthony D. Weiner | Apr 2, 2004 | |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Apr 2, 2004 | |
| R-CT | Christopher Shays | Apr 2, 2004 | |
| D-AZ | Ed Pastor | Apr 2, 2004 | |
| D-MD | Elijah E. Cummings | Apr 2, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Hilda L. Solis | Apr 2, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Juanita Millender-McDonald | Apr 2, 2004 | |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Apr 2, 2004 | |
| D-CT | Rosa L. DeLauro | Apr 2, 2004 | |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Apr 2, 2004 | |
| D-NJ | Donald M. Payne | Apr 22, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Sam Farr | Apr 22, 2004 | |
| D-FL | Corrine Brown | May 5, 2004 | |
| D-HI | Ed Case | May 5, 2004 | |
| D-WA | Jim McDermott | May 5, 2004 | |
| D-MA | John W. Olver | May 5, 2004 | |
| D-RI | Patrick J. Kennedy | May 5, 2004 | |
| D-NY | Steve Israel | May 5, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Susan A. Davis | May 5, 2004 | |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Jun 15, 2004 | |
| D-NJ | Frank Pallone, Jr. | Jun 15, 2004 | |
| D-NJ | Robert E. Andrews | Jun 15, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Tom Lantos | Jun 15, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Brad Sherman | Jul 22, 2004 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jan 21, 2004 |
| Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee | Referred Mar 1, 2004 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 1, 2004Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.
- Jan 21, 2004Introduced in House
- Jan 21, 2004Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 2020 | Freedom of Choice Act | Identical bill | Jan 22, 2004 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To prohibit, consistent with Roe v. Wade, the interference by the government with a woman's right to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Freedom of Choice Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues.
- Abortion
- Civil actions and liability
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Communication in medicine
- Discrimination in medical care
- Discrimination in public facilities
- Government liability
- Government Operations and Politics
- Health
- Law
- Patients' rights
- Reproduction
- Sex discrimination
- Women
- Women's health
- Women's rights
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 21, 2004Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.