WASHINGTON - April 10 - The National Organization for Women applauds the reintroduction of the Freedom of Choice Act by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). In this hostile political climate, an act that codifies "women's right to choose to bear a child or terminate her pregnancy" is crucial to save women's lives.

This 33rd year of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that provided constitutional protection for abortion, has been a dire one for women rights. In January, the Senate confirmed a right-wing conservative, Samuel Alito, to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who in her 20-plus years on the Supreme Court was a consistent vote in favor of Roe. Now, with Alito on the bench, constitutional protection for women's reproductive decisions is looking increasingly bleak.

According to a report by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, legislators in 10 states have introduced measures in 2006 that would directly challenge Roe v. Wade by banning virtually all abortions. Under these circumstances, a federal law like the Freedom of Choice Act is necessary to protect women from zealous anti-women's rights politicians acting at the behest of religious and political extremists.

On behalf of NOW's more than half-million contributing members and women all over the world, I am proud to support the Freedom of Choice Act. FOCA has the potential to save women's lives, health, liberty and privacy, and it serves as a testament that, even in these dangerous times, women's fundamental right to reproductive justice must be of paramount concern.

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