What would be the impact of FOCA on abortion procedure bans (so-called “partial-birth” abortion bans)?
A. FOCA would supersede the federal ban and any state ban, to the extent those bans restrict pre-viability abortion procedures, or post-viability procedures necessary to preserve a woman’s health or life. Q. What is the outlook for this legislation? A. The current anti-abortion rights majorities in both the House and Senate will likely block any action on this legislation during this Congress, at least until the 2008 elections. In any case, success in the short term cannot be defined solely by passage of legislation, though FOCA’s passage is an important goal. In the short term, this legislation allows the women’s reproductive rights community to make important headway as a movement—politically, electorally, and in educating the public. It helps us to: (1) articulate our vision of what it means to support women’s right to determine her own reproductive life (2) educate the public about the threat facing Roe at the Supreme Court and the many other efforts long underway to erode Roe’s pr
