Here’s What The Federal Government Could Still Do On Abortion Rights As Senate Vote Fails

Topline

The Senate blocked the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) from moving forward Wednesday, which would have enshrined abortion rights in federal law and blocked states from imposing restrictions on the procedure, leaving Democrats with few options to take federal action on abortion rights—though the White House and Senate are still expected to move forward with other, narrower proposals.

Pro-abortion rights demonstrators protest in front of the U.S. Capitol across the street from the … [+] U.S. Supreme Court on May 3 in Washington.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Key Facts

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who voted against WHPA Wednesday saying the bill would have gone too far, have already introduced a different bill, the Reproductive Choice Act, that would codify abortion rights but still allow states to impose some restrictions.

That bill is unlikely to move forward, as 17 reproductive rights organizations said in a letter the legislation “would not protect abortion rights” because some severe restrictions could still be allowed—like 15-week abortion bans—and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he has no plans to take it up.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told ABC News Tuesday he’s been negotiating with Collins on updating the Reproductive Choice Act to make it more bipartisan, which could have a better chance at getting a vote and garnering more support than WHPA—though it’s still a longshot it would get the 60 Senate votes needed to pass.

Democratic lawmakers will likely also try to vote on narrower proposals that deal with specific abortion-related issues and could be more likely to get through, the Washington Post reports—like enshrining exemptions for rape and incest into law—with lawmakers saying the WHPA vote Wednesday is the first of “many” Congress will take on abortion rights.

The White House is mulling executive actions on abortion, Reuters reports, such as directing the Food and Drug Administration to make medication abortion more widely available and making it possible to order the abortion pills online.

The Biden administration is also considering directing the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to let Americans use federal Medicaid funds on travel expenses if they travel to another state to get an abortion, Reuters reports.

Crucial Quote

“I think of the old saying: It’s important to be caught trying, and we’re going to try really hard to do everything we can to highlight this,” Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) told the Post about lawmakers’ efforts on abortion rights.

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 after the Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the court will overturn Roe was leaked, including 82% of Democrats.

Chief Critic

Despite Collins and Murkowski’s abortion legislation, most Senate Republicans have heavily opposed federal efforts in favor of abortion rights. “With this bill, Democrats … are attempting to take this issue away from the people, away from the states, and force their radical abortion agenda on the American people as a whole,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Key Background

WHPA failed to move forward Wednesday in a 49-51 vote, after Schumer forced a vote on the bill Wednesday despite it being clear the legislation would fail. Senators had previously blocked the legislation in February in a 46-48 vote, after the House passed WHPA in January. Congress has focused its attention back on abortion rights after Politico leaked a draft opinion last week showing a majority of Supreme Court justices favor overturning Roe v. Wade in a case concerning the legality of Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. Though the draft ruling, from February, is not yet final—the official decision will likely be released in June—Politico reported Wednesday five justices are still in support of overturning the 1973 ruling, suggesting it’s still likely Roe will be struck down.