Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Medical Travel Assistance to Protect Women’s Right to Choose Act of 2021”.
Medical Travel Assistance to Protect Women’s Right to Choose Act of 2021
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a grant program to facilitate the distribution of funding for travel related expenses paid by individuals impacted by restrictions to the provision of abortion services, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that the Attorney General shall undertake all necessary actions to prevent a State from frustrating the protections outlined in Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)).
Sec. 3 Grants to individuals impacted by restrictions to provision of abortion services
Establishment— Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish a program (in this Act referred to as the “Program”) to facilitate the distribution of funding for travel related expenses paid with respect to accessing an abortion service by an individual residing in a State that does not have a State law protecting the right to abortion services before the fetus is viable.
Grant authority— In carrying out the Program, the Secretary may award a grant to each individual in accordance with this section.
Eligible recipients— The Secretary may award a grant under the Program to any individual determined by the Secretary to—
be a resident of a State that does not have a State law protecting the right to abortion services before the fetus is viable; and
have traveled to a State other than the State of such individual’s residence to be provided abortion services.
Applications— To be eligible for a grant under the Program, the individual shall submit to the Secretary an application in such form, at such time, and containing such information as the Secretary determines appropriate.
Grant amount—
In general— The amount of the grant awarded under the Program shall be up to $1,000 and based on the travel related expenses paid by an eligible recipient.
Additional amount— In extraordinary circumstances, as determined by the Secretary, the amount of the grant awarded under the Program may exceed $1,000.
Travel related expenses defined— In this section, the term “travel related expenses”—
includes—
the expense of round trip travel to the location where the abortion service is provided; and
lodging and meals; and
does not include—
costs with respect to the provision of the abortion service; or
wages lost as a result of travel undertaken to receive such service.
Fetus is viable defined— The term “fetus is viable” means the time at which there is established medical consensus that the fetus has the potential to survive outside the uterus after birth, natural or induced.