The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)

What is the Freedom of Choice Act?
If you've been paying attention to our presidential candidates -- at least those beholden to Planned Parenthood and NARAL and supporting a "right to choice" in the matter of abortion, you may have encountered the phrase "Freedom of Choice Act." This is what they are referring to:

According to the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC):

The promoters of the FOCA sometimes claim that its purpose is to "codify Roe v. Wade," the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on demand. But the key binding provisions of the bill would go further than Roe, invalidating all of the major types of pro-life laws that have been upheld by the Supreme Court in the decades since Roe.

"The claim that the bill would ‘codify Roe' is just a marketing gimmick by the proponents," explained Johnson. "The sponsors hope that journalists and legislators will lazily accept that vague shorthand phrase – but it is very misleading. The references to Roe in the bill are in non-binding, discursive clauses. The heart of the bill is a ban that would nullify all of the major types of pro-life laws that the Supreme Court has said are permissible under Roe v. Wade, including the ban on partial-birth abortions and bans on government funding of abortion."

The bill flatly invalidates any "statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action" of any federal, state, or local government or governmental official (or any person acting under government authority) that would "deny or interfere with a woman's right to choose" abortion, or that would "discriminate against the exercise of the right . . . in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information."

This no-restriction policy would establish, in Senator Boxer's words, "the absolute right to choose" prior to fetal "viability."

The no-restriction policy would also apply after "viability" to any abortion sought on grounds of "health."

According to the National Right to Life Committee's Legislative Action Center, the FOCA was introduced by Democrats in response to the April 18, 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Gonzales v. Carhart) upholding the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.

Among the types of laws that the FOCA would invalidate are:

-- The Hyde Amendment, which prohibits most federal funding of abortion, and the laws of many states that restrict state funding of abortion.

-- Laws in effect in some jurisdictions that bar abortions in government-operated hospitals.

-- Laws requiring parental notification or consent, or judicial authorization, before an abortion can be performed on a minor daughter.

-- Laws requiring that girls and women seeking abortion receive certain information on matters such as fetal development and alternatives to abortion, and then wait a specified period before the abortion is actually performed, usually 24 or 48 hours.

-- "Conscience" laws, allowing doctors, nurses, or other state-licensed professionals, and hospitals or other health-care providers, to decline to provide or pay for abortions.

• The House bill, H.R. 1964, was introduced by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who in the new Democratic-majority Congress is the chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee that has jurisdiction over such legislation. To view an always-current list of co-sponsors, arranged by state, click here.
  
• The Senate bill, S. 1173, introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Ca.), had 13 Democratic cosponsors, including presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY), plus independent Joseph Lieberman (Ct.). (To view an always-current list of co-sponsors, arranged by state, click here.)
  

Where do Democratic candidates stand on the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)?

• Barack Obama (in his Statement on 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade Decision):

  "Throughout my career, I've been a consistent and strong supporter of reproductive justice, and have consistently had a 100% pro-choice rating with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.

  When South Dakota passed a law banning all abortions in a direct effort to have Roe overruled, I was the only candidate for President to raise money to help the citizens of South Dakota repeal that law. When anti-choice protesters blocked the opening of an Illinois Planned Parenthood clinic in a community where affordable health care is in short supply, I was the only candidate for President who spoke out against it. And I will continue to defend this right by passing the Freedom of Choice Act as president.

  Senator Obama is a co-sponsor of the FOCA.
  
  
  
• Hillary Clinton (in her Agenda For Reproductive Health Care announced on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade):

  Hillary will sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act, which would codify Roe v. Wade and send a renewed signal to the courts that the will of Congress and the President is to keep abortion legal.

  Senator Clinton is a co-sponsor of the FOCA.
  
  
  
• John Edwards (in a position statement: "A Women's Right to Choose" JohnEdwards.com ):

  The right to choose and the right to privacy are fundamental constitutional rights. Edwards strongly supports those rights as recognized by Roe v. Wade. He supports a federal freedom of choice act codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law so that the right to choose is protected no matter what the Supreme Court does. He opposes legislation that would undermine reproductive freedom and choice, like the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

  
  

Where do Republican candidates stand on the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)?

Presumably opposed. That said, if you can find any specific references by former mayor Giuliani on this matter, I'll modify this post.

Planned Parenthood and NARAL are currently rallying for the passage of this legislation -- in 2007, bolstered by the