U.S. House approves Rep Lizzie Fletcher's bill to protect the right to seek an abortion out of state

BY ERIC NEUGEBOREN
by Eric Neugeboren, Texas Tribune


The U.S. House on Friday passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, a Houston Democrat, that would protect a person's right to travel across state lines to receive an abortion.

The bill is one of two that the House passed Friday to shore up abortion access. The other would effectively codify Roe v. Wade by creating a federal law allowing people to receive abortions nationwide. The bills are unlikely to become law since they require 60 votes in the Senate to move forward.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, was the only Democrat to vote against the bill that would effectively codify Roe v. Wade. Cuellar also voted against a prior attempt last year to codify Roe. That measure passed the House but failed in the Senate. All Democrats, including Cuellar, and three Republicans voted for Fletcher's bill.

Fletcher's bill comes as some state Republicans in Texas are trying to make it harder for Texans to travel outside the state to receive an abortion. The bill would shield the rights of any person or group helping someone get an abortion out of state. The U.S. Justice Department and any individual affected by a violation of the legislation could sue violators — a provision that appears to be modeled after Texas’ recent ban on abortions after about six weeks into pregnancy, in which private individuals served as the de facto enforcers.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/15/lizzie-fletcher-out-of-state-abortions-texas/