Sponsors (147)
Prohibits states from interfering with interstate abortion services, assistance, travel, and movement of FDA-approved abortion drugs and creates DOJ and private enforcement remedies.
Official title: To prohibit the interference, under color of State law, with the provision of interstate abortion services, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 24, 2025 by Elizabeth Pannill Fletcher · Last progress June 24, 2025
The bill strengthens cross‑state access to abortion and legal protections for patients and providers, at the cost of increased litigation, federal‑state tensions, and potential financial burdens on states and taxpayers.
Pregnant people traveling to other States: can obtain abortions lawful in the destination State without state officials blocking or penalizing them.
Health care providers in States that permit abortion: can serve out-of-state patients without interference from officials of patients' home States.
Pregnant people seeking medication abortion: preserves access to FDA‑approved medication abortion across state lines when consistent with federal law, protecting availability of medication abortion.
State governments and taxpayers: increased litigation and federal-court injunctions could force states to defend laws in court, limit enforcement of local abortion restrictions, and impose legal costs.
Taxpayers and state budgets: states (and therefore taxpayers) may incur costs defending laws and paying legal judgments if courts find state actions unlawful under the Act.
Residents and officials in States that restrict abortion: enforcement authority at the state level may be curtailed, creating federalism tensions and disputes over state versus federal power.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits state actors from stopping, restricting, or retaliating against people and entities who cross state lines to obtain or provide abortions that are legal where performed, and protects those who assist travelers or move FDA-approved abortion drugs across state lines. It lets the Attorney General sue to block state enforcement and gives individuals a private right of action for injunctive relief, damages (including emotional and economic), and attorneys’ fees. The law defines covered terms (like “abortion service,” “health care provider,” and “drug”), treats states to include territories and tribes, preserves the right to travel, and includes usual severability and construction rules. It focuses on civil remedies and federal enforcement to prevent interstate interference with abortion-related activities lawful in the destination jurisdiction.