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<bill bill-stage="Received-in-Senate" dms-id="H59A29C936FE544E4B55AC16E6658B83F" public-private="public" key="G" bill-type="olc" stage-count="1"><metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
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<dc:title>117 HR 8297 : Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act</dc:title>
<dc:publisher>U.S. House of Representatives</dc:publisher>
<dc:date>2022-07-18</dc:date>
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<dc:language>EN</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
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<distribution-code display="yes">II</distribution-code><congress display="yes">117th CONGRESS</congress><session display="yes">2d Session</session><legis-num display="yes">H. R. 8297</legis-num><current-chamber>IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES</current-chamber><action><action-date date="20220718">July 18, 2022</action-date><action-desc>Received</action-desc></action><legis-type>AN ACT</legis-type><official-title display="yes">To prohibit the interference, under color of State law, with the provision of interstate abortion services, and for other purposes.</official-title></form><legis-body id="HCF35D7F5D7264757BD497246E0C73FF1" style="OLC"><pagebreak></pagebreak><section id="H2533C4AA8BF5437BBBD31CA2029DF1C2" section-type="section-one"><enum>1.</enum><header>Short title</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">This Act may be cited as the <quote><short-title>Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act</short-title></quote>.</text></section><section id="HD71C86D87A764CF19AD4C21BE3DAB16C"><enum>2.</enum><header>Interference with interstate abortion services prohibited</header><subsection id="H31DACA58B98440D989CB2FFFD0FF1C65"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Interference prohibited</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">No person acting under color of State law, including any person who, by operation of a provision of State law, is permitted to implement or enforce State law, may prevent, restrict, or impede, or retaliate against, in any manner—</text><paragraph id="H9BBA7FB1F8F045A594EF92949B40C88A" commented="no"><enum>(1)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">a health care provider’s ability to provide, initiate, or otherwise enable an abortion service that is lawful in the State in which the service is to be provided to a patient who does not reside in that State;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="H2EFBCBAA6338448993C1A0E12F0A784E"><enum>(2)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">any person or entity’s ability to assist a health care provider to provide, initiate, or otherwise enable an abortion service that is lawful in the State in which the service is to be provided to a patient who does not reside in that State, if such assistance does not violate the law of that State;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="H37372A62BB3E420781C4FBF3BDDC9AE7"><enum>(3)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">any person’s ability to travel across a State line for the purpose of obtaining an abortion service that is lawful in the State in which the service is to be provided;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HC85884F851E34A6D84FCF6706CC46F08"><enum>(4)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">any person’s or entity’s ability to assist another person traveling across a State line for the purpose of obtaining an abortion service that is lawful in the State in which the service is to be provided; or </text></paragraph><paragraph id="H137DD9B7476C4A069FB9825BA8C44AD9"><enum>(5)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the movement in interstate commerce, in accordance with Federal law or regulation, of any drug approved or licensed by the Food and Drug Administration for the termination of a pregnancy. </text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H0F7B0FC43A654887AFB41EE8EF4E1205"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Enforcement by Attorney General</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The Attorney General may bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court against any person who violates subsection (a) for declaratory and injunctive relief. </text></subsection><subsection id="H51DC27D9840D4BB89C1B04953BF7C45F"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Private right of action</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Any person who is harmed by a violation of subsection (a) may bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court against the person who violated such subsection for declaratory and injunctive relief, and for such compensatory damages as the court determines appropriate, including for economic losses and for emotional pain and suffering. The court may, in addition, award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of the action to a prevailing plaintiff.</text></subsection><subsection id="HF584E2F8D3684E838261475F1EF78623"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Definitions</header><text>In this section:</text><paragraph id="H15085ED081FA41A790BDE5B75CC44950"><enum>(1)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The term <term>abortion service</term> means—</text><subparagraph id="HFE43FE67DDFF4E83B6BF983038112994"><enum>(A)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">an abortion, including the use of any drug approved or licensed by the Food and Drug Administration for the termination of a pregnancy; and </text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="HD5E76D1D7C704A7C80560E19C6D92C08"><enum>(B)</enum><text>any health care service related to or provided in conjunction with an abortion (whether or not provided at the same time or on the same day as the abortion).</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="HC9D586740236401A9FDF34C5AC2DEFC2"><enum>(2)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The term <term>health care provider</term> means any entity or individual (including any physician, certified nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, or pharmacist) that is—</text><subparagraph id="HCEFD5CE83D894C44AF010C94B777DFC0"><enum>(A)</enum><text>engaged or seeks to engage in the delivery of health care services, including abortion services; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="HF2DC35F52CA74BECB4A146A9EAB6C06B"><enum>(B)</enum><text>licensed or certified to perform such service under applicable State law. </text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="HBD64A2E6CC054809811E5992522C3486" commented="no"><enum>(3)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The term <term>drug</term> has the meaning given such term in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/21/321">21 U.S.C. 321</external-xref>).</text></paragraph><paragraph id="HC71B1EC8C8CE40489AE22F6A12D8EA74"><enum>(4)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The term <term>State</term> includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, each Indian tribe, and each territory or possession of the United States.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="HE0B9B501B6F74286BC785DFDE99763AD"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Severability</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision to any person, entity, government, or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or the application of such provision to all other persons, entities, governments, or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.</text></subsection><subsection id="HAE16C5854627461A8C40314404719346"><enum>(f)</enum><header>Rule of construction</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the fundamental right to travel within the United States, including the District of Columbia, Tribal lands, and the territories of the United States, nor to limit any existing enforcement authority of the Attorney General or any existing remedies available to address a violation of such right. </text></subsection></section></legis-body><attestation><attestation-group><attestation-date date="20220715" chamber="House">Passed the House of Representatives July 15, 2022.</attestation-date><attestor display="yes">Cheryl L. Johnson,</attestor><role>Clerk.</role></attestation-group></attestation></bill> 

