Abortion Rights Bill Fails In Senate—Again—Ahead Of Supreme Court Ruling

Topline

The Senate voted against moving forward with the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) Wednesday, which would codify abortion rights into federal law, blocking the measure in a 49-51 vote with the Supreme Court expected to overturn Roe v. Wade in the coming weeks.

Women rights activists march to the U.S. Capitol during the annual Womens March October 2, 2021 in … [+] Washington, DC.

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Key Facts

All Senate Republicans voted against moving forward with debate on the legislation—including moderate Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), while all Democrats backed it except for Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.).

The bill would have needed 60 votes to move forward under the Senate’s filibuster rules, but Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said they were unwilling to abolish the filibuster to pass the legislation with only a simple majority of votes—which WHPA still would not have received.

WHPA would have enshrined the right to an abortion, as well as outlawed many common restrictions on the procedure like waiting periods and restrictions on medication abortion, which states have imposed even with Roe in place.

The vote tally was largely unchanged from the Senate’s 46-48 vote on the bill in February, in which Manchin, Collins and Murkowski also all opposed the legislation (some senators were not present for that vote).

The moderate senators believe the legislation goes too far, and Collins had raised objections to it not adequately shielding Catholic hospitals from being forced to perform abortions (which Democrats have said is false).

The version of WHPA voted on Wednesday was largely the same as what the chamber considered in February, with bill sponsor Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) only removing some language that was considered politically divisive, like references to “white supremacy” and “gender oppression.”

Big Number

58%. That’s the share of U.S. adults who said they support federal legislation that legalizes abortion, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll conducted May 4-6, after the Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the court will overturn Roe was leaked.

Crucial Quote

“Protecting the right to choose at this critical moment is one of the most consequential votes we can possibly take, and the American people are watching,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor Wednesday ahead of the vote. “The public will not forget which side of the vote senators fall on today. They will not forget those who voted to protect their freedoms. And they will not forget those responsible for the greatest backslide of individual liberties in half a century.”

Chief Critic

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized WHPA Wednesday as being “as extreme as extreme gets.” “[Democrats] have let fringe activism lead them far away from where Americans are,” McConnell said, though polling shows a majority of Americans broadly support legal access to abortion.

What To Watch For

Collins and Murkowski have introduced their own abortion rights bill, the Reproductive Choice Act, which more narrowly protects abortion until the fetus is viable but still lets states impose restrictions on the procedure. The Senate is unlikely to take up that bill in its current form: 17 reproductive rights organizations wrote in a letter to Collins and Murkowski the legislation would not adequately protect abortion rights, and the Washington Post reports some Democrats are concerned major restrictions like a 15-week abortion ban could still be allowed under it. Collins is now working with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on a more bipartisan version of the bill, which could be taken up, though it is also unlikely to garner the 60 votes needed to pass. Democrats could also move forward with other bills that would more narrowly protect aspects of abortion rights, like exemptions for rape and incest, the Post reports.

Key Background

Abortion rights gained new steam in Congress last week after Politico leaked a draft opinion from February showing a majority of Supreme Court justices favor overturning Roe in a case concerning Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. The decision is not yet final—the official ruling will likely be released in June—though Politico reported Wednesday no justices have so far changed their votes. The leak prompted Schumer to call for a second vote on WHPA, saying he wanted senators to go on record with their views on supporting abortion rights even as the legislation itself was near certain to fail. The House already passed WHPA in January in a narrow 218-211 vote.

Tangent

In addition to Democrats’ efforts to protect abortion rights, some Republicans have also suggested they’d introduce legislation banning abortion nationwide if the GOP takes control of Congress in the midterms. The Post reported some GOP senators had already met to discuss proposals that would ban the procedure as soon as six weeks into a pregnancy even before the draft opinion leaked, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told USA Today Friday that a federal bill banning abortion was “possible.” A number of other GOP senators have said they believe the issue should be left to the states, however—a view their Republican base largely shares, polling suggests—and McConnell clarified Tuesday that he doesn’t believe a federal abortion ban would have the votes to pass.