Senate Fails to Pass Abortion Rights Bill
leaked Supreme Court opinion indicating the court will overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide while allowing states to place some restrictions on the procedure later in pregnancy.“The Democratic legislation, led by Sen.
Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), would go beyond codifying Roe v. Wade,” Politico reports. “It would ban states from enacting many kinds of abortion restrictions, including those currently allowed under Roe that are deemed ‘medically unnecessary,’ like mandatory waiting periods and regulations on clinics, known as TRAP laws.
In the latest version of the bill, Democrats removed nonbinding language about transgender rights and the disparate racial impacts of abortion restrictions.”The push to remove that language came from moderate Democrats, the site notes.
The Advocate has sought comment from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer regarding its removal but has not yet received a response.The Democratic-majority House has already passed a version of the bill, but the Senate was less likely to, given the 60-vote filibuster threshold and the fact that the Senate is divided 50-50 between Democrats (and the two independents who caucus with them) and Republicans.
