S. 4701

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4701 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4701

To protect freedom of travel and reproductive rights.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 8, 2026

Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, Mr. Markey, Ms. Warren, Mr. Hickenlooper, Ms. Duckworth, 
Mr. Merkley, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Gallego, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. 
Smith, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Coons, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Bennet, 
Ms. Hirono, Mr. Warner, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Reed, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Cantwell, 
Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Slotkin, 
Mr. Lujan, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Fetterman, Ms. Blunt Rochester, 
and Ms. Alsobrooks) 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 2026''.

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), States and 
localities 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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