# Plain Language Summary: Abortion Justice Act of 2023

This bill would make abortion significantly more accessible across the United States by removing federal barriers and providing substantial funding to expand services. The core idea is that abortion should be treated like any other medical procedure—available, affordable, and accessible to everyone who needs it, regardless of where they live or their financial situation.

The bill would pump $350 million per year into grants that support abortion access in multiple ways. This money could fund abortion clinics and providers, train new doctors in abortion care, help pay for patients' travel and lodging costs when they need to go out of state for procedures, and support telehealth services so people can access medication abortion remotely. The bill also funds "patient navigators" who help people figure out how to get care, translators for non-English speakers, and security improvements for clinics that have faced increasing threats and violence.

On the provider side, the bill removes a federal restriction that currently prevents certain doctors from training in abortion care. It also requires that any hospital or health center receiving federal funding must either provide abortion services or refer patients to someone who does—with limited exceptions. Similarly, college and university health centers that receive federal money would be required to offer medication abortion to students, either directly or through telehealth. This addresses a real problem: in many states, people have to travel hundreds of miles to access abortion, and the bill aims to make it available where people actually live and seek healthcare.

The bill is built on the premise that abortion access has become severely restricted since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, with nearly a third of American women of reproductive age now living in states where abortion is banned or heavily restricted. The legislation emphasizes that these restrictions disproportionately harm low-income people, people of color, immigrants, young people, and others already facing systemic barriers to healthcare.

Abortion Justice Act of 2023

Abortion Justice Act of 2023This bill establishes rights, requirements, and programs with the purpose of increasing access to abortion care.The bill specifies that all persons have a fundamental right to make decisions regarding abortions and miscarriages and prohibits federal, state, and local governments from denying, or otherwise penalizing an individual for exercising, that right. Aggrieved individuals may sue governments for violating these prohibitions.Additionally, the bill eliminates language that allows health care entities to decline to offer training related to, performance of, or referrals for abortion care, and generally requires that all federally funded health care providers offer patients all medically appropriate reproductive care, including abortion care.It also (1) requires public and private health insurance plans to cover abortion services, (2) prohibits immigration enforcement actions within 2,000 feet of any health care facility, and (3) establishes a grant program to increase access to abortion services.