U.S. Capitol.Photo: Stefan Zaklin/Getty Images
The Senate voted against passinga bill that would make abortions legal nationwide, as theSupreme Court appears likely to overturnRoe v. Wade.
In a 49-51 vote, the Senate again decided against approving the Women’s Health Protection Act, which passed in the House last year. The bill was intended to codifyRoe v. Wadeinto a federal lawwithRoeexpected to fall, but the Senate — where Democrats hold just a slim majority and need 60 votes to pass more partisan legislation — and they first voted against it in February.
The bill came up again last week after a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court indicated that a majority of justices intend to overturnRoenext month. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to bring the bill to a vote, andPresident Joe Biden said he would sign the legislationif it passed through Congress, but Senate Democrats never had enough votes for it to pass.
All 50 Republicans voted against the bill, along with Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia. All other Senate Democrats voted in favor of passing.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has the deciding vote in case of a tie in the Senate, presided over the vote. Speaking to reporters afterward, Harris expressed her disappointment in the decision.
“Sadly the Senate failed to stand in defense of a woman’s right to decide what happens to her own body,” she said. “And this vote clearly suggests that the Senate is not where the majority of Americans are on this issue.”
Sens. Susan Collins from Maine and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska were notable no’s — though both have said they support abortion rights, they voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act for a second time and instead introduced a competing bill, called the Reproductive Choice Act. Their bill is narrower in scope, and Democrats say it contains too many loopholes that would allow for restrictions like 15-week abortion bans.
A majority of Americans support the right to abortion —polling from Pew Researchshows that 59% of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, a percentage that has held steady for 26 years, since 1995. A similar percentage of Americans support upholdingRoe, according toa poll from Quinnipiac, which found that 63% agree with the court ruling, anda Marquette Law School pollfound that 72% oppose the decision being overturned.
RELATED VIDEO: ‘I Pray for All … Who Will Suffer’: Many Stars Are Outraged at Sweeping Alabama Abortion Ban
Speaking to PEOPLE ahead of the vote, Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat, expressed her frustration with her Republican colleagues for not supporting abortion rights.
“According to all the public polling that I have seen, access to abortion is what most people in this country want,” Smith said. “We should put into law the basic protections in theRoe v. Wadedecision; the right to access to abortion up until viability.”
Smith added that if legislators aren’t voting in the interests of their constituents, Americans should vote them out this November.
After the vote, Schumer, from New York, said the same.
“Elect more pro-choice Democrats.”
source: people.com
