[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2053 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2053
To protect freedom of travel and reproductive rights.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 20, 2023
Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. Murray, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Markey, Ms.
Stabenow, Mr. Coons, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Wyden, Mrs.
Feinstein, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Menendez, Mr.
Van Hollen, Mr. Bennet, Ms. Smith, Mr. Carper, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms.
Baldwin, Mr. Warner, Mr. Warnock, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Duckworth,
Mr. Brown, Mr. Hickenlooper, Ms. Warren, Mr. Welch, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.
Fetterman, Ms. Rosen, and Mr. Heinrich) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect freedom of travel and reproductive rights.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom to Travel for Health Care
Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The right to travel freely and voluntarily among the
several States is one of the chief privileges and immunities
guaranteed to all citizens of the United States by the 14th
Amendment and one of the fundamental rights guaranteed to all
persons under the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
(2) Section 5 of the 14th Amendment empowers Congress to
enforce, by appropriate legislation, its provisions.
(3) Article 1, section 8, clause 3 of the Constitution of
the United States empowers Congress to regulate commerce among
the several States.
(4) The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that ``a citizen
of one State who travels in other States, intending to return
home at the end of his journey, is entitled to enjoy the
`Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States'
that he visits'' (Saenz v. Roe, 526 U.S. 489, 501 (1999)
(citing Corfield v. Coryell, 6 F. Cas. 546 (No. 3,230)
(C.C.E.D.Pa.1823); Edwards v. California, 314 U.S. 160 (1941);
United States v. Guest, 383 U.S. 745 (1966))).
(5) The Supreme Court long ago decided that one of the
privileges which the Constitution guarantees to citizens of 1
State is the ``fundamental'' right to travel to another State
to seek and obtain services lawful in that State, including
medical services, on terms of substantial equality with the
citizens of that State (Toomer v. Witsell, 334 U.S. 385, 396
(1948); Hicklin v. Orbeck, 437 U.S. 518, 525 (1978); Doe v.
Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 200 (1973) (citing Ward v. Maryland, 79
U.S. 418 (1870)); Chalker v. Birmingham & N.W.Ry. Co., 249 U.S.
522, 527 (1919); Shaffer v. Carter, 252 U.S. 37, 52, 53
(1920)).
(6) Since the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v.
Jackson Women's Health Org., 142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022), State
legislatures have proposed and enacted legislation attempting
to interfere with the ability to travel for reproductive health
care.
SEC. 3. FREEDOM OF TRAVEL.
(a) Prohibited Conduct.--It shall be unlawful for any person or
government to--
(1) restrict or in any way sanction, hold liable,
discriminate against, or otherwise disadvantage any individual
from traveling to another State to receive or provide
reproductive health care that is legal in that State;
(2) restrict or in any way sanction, hold liable,
discriminate against, or otherwise disadvantage any individual,
entity, or organization from assisting an individual in
traveling to another State to receive or provide reproductive
health care that is legal in that State;
(3) deny any right, benefit, or privilege to an individual,
entity, or organization as retaliation for another person's
travel to another State to receive or provide reproductive
health care that is legal in that State; or
(4) restrict or in any way sanction, hold liable,
discriminate against, or otherwise disadvantage a reproductive
health care provider for providing, initiating, or otherwise
enabling reproductive health care services for an individual
who does not reside in the State wherein the provider offers
health care services if it would be legal for the health care
provider to provide, initiate, or otherwise enable the same
reproductive health care services to an individual who resides
in the State where the provider offers health care services.
(b) Preemption.--A State law that is inconsistent with this section
shall be preempted and shall have no legal effect. No State, State
official, or any other person acting under the color of law may enforce
or apply any law that is inconsistent with this section.
(c) Enforcement.--
(1) Attorney general.--The Attorney General may commence a
civil action in United States district court on behalf of the
United States against any State, State official, or any other
person acting under the color of law in violation of this
section. The court shall hold unlawful and set aside the
limitation or requirement if it is in violation of this
section.
(2) Private right of action.--Any individual or entity
adversely affected by an alleged violation of this section may
commence a civil action in State or Federal court against any
State, State official, or any other person acting under the
color of law in violation of this section. The court shall hold
unlawful and set aside the limitation or requirement if it is
in violation of this section.
(3) Reproductive health care provider.--A reproductive
health care provider may commence an action for relief on its
own behalf, on behalf of the provider's staff, or on behalf of
the provider's patients who are or may be adversely affected by
an alleged violation of this section.
(4) Remedies.--In any action under this section, the court
may award appropriate relief, including damages, declaratory
relief, and temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive
relief.
(5) Costs.--In any action under this section, the court
shall award costs of litigation, as well as reasonable
attorney's fees, to any prevailing plaintiff. A plaintiff shall
not be liable to a defendant for costs or attorney's fees in
any non-frivolous action under this section.
(6) Jurisdiction.--The district courts of the United States
shall have jurisdiction over proceedings under this section and
shall exercise the same without regard to whether the party
aggrieved shall have exhausted any administrative or other
remedies that may be provided for by law.
(7) Abrogation of state immunity.--Neither a State that
enforces or maintains, nor a government official who implements
or enforces, any limitation or requirement that violates this
section shall be immune under the Tenth Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States, the Eleventh Amendment to
the Constitution of the United States, the doctrine of
sovereign immunity, the doctrine of qualified immunity, or any
other source of law, from an action in a Federal or State court
of competent jurisdiction challenging that limitation or
requirement.
(8) Right to remove.--A defendant shall have a right to
remove to Federal court any civil or criminal proceeding that
would have the purpose or effect of interfering with or
imposing any liability for the exercise of the travel right in
this section, with venue in the district court of the United
States for the district and division embracing the place
wherein such proceeding is pending. An order remanding the case
to State court may be immediately reviewable on appeal or
otherwise.
(d) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Government.--The term ``government'' includes each
branch, department, agency, instrumentality, and official of
the United States or of a State.
(2) Reproductive health care.--The term ``reproductive
health care'' means medical, surgical, counseling, or referral
services and care related to pregnancy, including the
prevention or termination of a pregnancy, and other
reproductive care.
(3) State.--The term ``State'' includes the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, each territory and possession of the
United States, and any subdivision of a State, including any
unit of local government, such as a county, city, town,
village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a
State.
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.
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.
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