Abortion legislation seemingly on major fast track after Dobbs decision

For months, it looked like the New Jersey Legislature, with its assemblage of quietly pro-life Democrats and reservedly pro-choice Republicans, wouldn’t have the votes to pass abortion legislation anytime soon. After getting the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act signed into law in January, thus codifying abortion access into state law, many legislators seemed content with letting the current situation stand.

Then, last Friday, Roe v. Wade was overturned, and things shifted. Three different abortion bills will be heard today across three different Senate and Assembly committees, each of which aims to protect New Jersey residents and out-of-state individuals visiting New Jersey from other states’ restrictive abortion laws.

That isn’t as expansive as what Gov. Phil Murphy had in mind when the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization first leaked last month. At a May 11 press conference, Murphy pushed for an insurance mandate for abortions, an expansion of the abortion provider pool, and a state-funded reproductive health fund, proposals that never stood much of a chance in the legislature.

But the bills that will be heard today still represent a significant step forward for the governor’s agenda, especially given that Senate President Nick Scutari (D-Linden) indicated earlier this month that his chamber had little appetite for more abortion legislation.

“This legislation aims to protect medical professionals who provide reproductive healthcare services in New Jersey that is in violation of any other state’s laws and prohibits the use of extradition,” Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (D-Fair Lawn), a sponsor of the bills in the Assembly, said in a statement. “We will continue to protect women and ensure they can make their own medical decisions partnered with their doctors.”

The action on the three bills is extremely last-minute; the Senate only posted its bills to the committee schedule on Saturday, and the Assembly just did so earlier today.

There are two bills up for a vote in the Senate, both sponsored by State Sen. Nia Gill (D-Montclair). One would ban the extradition of individuals to other states for crimes related to reproductive health services that are legal in New Jersey, while the other explicitly protects other state’s residents’ access to abortion services in New Jersey and allows those sued for violating another state’s abortion laws to file countersuits.

Both bills will come up before the Senate Judiciary Committee, while the countersuit bill will also come before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. That means State Sen. Fred Madden (D-Washington), a generally anti-abortion Democrat, and State Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), a pro-choice Republican, will each be casting votes today.

The Assembly, meanwhile, is hearing two bills as well, sponsored by Swain and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-South Orange); both will be heard before the Assembly Budget Committee.

However, only one of the Assembly bills – the bill banning extradition – is the counterpart to a Senate bill. The other is a slightly different bill that holds other states do not have jurisdiction to enforce their anti-abortion laws against New Jersey abortion providers. Swain said she wasn’t yet sure how the two similar bills might be harmonized with one another.

Assuming every bill up for a vote today clears its respective committee, there’s still the hurdle of a full floor vote in both chambers. Assembly Democrats in particular likely have narrow margins to pass any reproductive health legislation, given the number of Assemblymembers who abstained on the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act, meaning that there still may be a rocky road ahead for New Jersey’s first post-Roe abortion legislation.

This story was updated at 1:55 p.m. with comment from Assemblywoman Lisa Swain.