United Front Intl
No Result
View All Result
Monday, February 6, 2023
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
  • Be in the Know
  • ShopNew
Contact us
United Front Intl
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
  • Be in the Know
  • ShopNew

No products in the cart.

No Result
View All Result
United Front Intl
No Result
View All Result
Home Be in the Know

Democrats’ signature abortion rights bill falls short as SCOTUS ruling looms

by admin
February 28, 2022
in Be in the Know, US
Democrats’ signature abortion rights bill falls short as SCOTUS ruling looms

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a press conference at the Capitol on Feb. 28, 2022 in Washington, D.C., alongside Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Patty Murray and Tammy Baldwin. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

POLITICO
By ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN

The 46-48 vote comes just a few months before the Supreme Court is to rule on half-century old protections for the procedure and before the midterm elections.

The Senate failed to advance the Women’s Health Protection Act on Monday night — leaving Democratic advocates and lawmakers wondering what else, if anything, the party can do to protect abortion rights as they come under attack from federal courts and Republican-led states.

The 46-48 vote comes just a few months before the Supreme Court is to rule on half-century old protections for the procedure and before the midterm elections, when many expect Democrats to lose control of one or both chambers of Congress.

“It is a dark, dark time for women’s reproductive rights,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters ahead of the vote. “We cannot simply stand by and let this happen. There is too much at stake.”

Yet Schumer and other leading Democrats did not have a clear answer Monday on what they plan to do to shore up abortion rights ahead of the Supreme Court’s expected decision to limit or eliminate Roe v. Wade, and largely cast the vote as a referendum on the issue ahead of the midterm elections.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer confers with Sens. Richard Blumenthal, left, and Tammy Baldwin, right, before a press conference on Feb. 28. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

“We, and the American people, will find out whose side our colleagues are on,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) told reporters.

The bill, which progressive lawmakers have pushed since 2013, would have gone further than codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law by barring states from enacting restrictions on abortion both later and earlier in pregnancy. The House narrowly passed the legislation last fall, but unanimous opposition from Republicans as well as opposition from Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in the Senate led to it coming up short of the 60 votes needed to advance. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of the few Republicans who has voiced support for abortion rights, also voted to stop the measure from moving forward, telling reporters the bill would have “very troubling” implications for religious freedom.

Both abortion-rights and anti-abortion-rights groups mobilized ahead of the Senate vote, ramping up pressure on the more conservative Democrats and more moderate Republicans whose votes were seen as getable. Powerful conservative groups like Susan B. Anthony List and Students for Life of America led demonstrations outside the Capitol on Monday, and said they were “scoring” the vote and using it to determine which lawmakers to support in future races.

“We will work tirelessly to hold members of Congress accountable for their votes,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser.

Republican senators blasted the bill in speeches ahead of the vote, comparing abortion to infanticide and accusing Democrats of extremism.

Despite the bill’s failure, supporters of the measure argue that holding the vote helped highlight the six-month anniversary of Texas’ six-week abortion ban taking effect and the Supreme Court decision on the fate of Roe v. Wade, which is expected before the end of June. They also said the vote recorded how members stand on abortion rights heading into the midterm elections.

“This vote will be a rallying cry in November,” predicted Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the lead author of the bill. “This vote is going to awaken a lot of people who grew up taking reproductive rights for granted.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal speaks during a press conference at the Capitol on Feb. 28. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

But progressive advocates say Democrats in Congress and the Biden administration must do more before then to protect abortion rights.

“As state legislative chambers escalate their aggressive assaults on reproductive freedoms, we need lawmakers at all levels of government to step up in this moment of crisis,” Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson stressed in a statement following the vote.

Two top priorities abortion-rights supporters are now pushing are stronger action from the FDA against states restricting the distribution of abortion pills and Congress passing a budget that lifts the longstanding ban on federal spending on abortion.

“We’re going to continue advocating at the state level but eventually Congress is going to need to fix this,” said Nancy Northup, the president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is fighting a Mississippi abortion ban now before the Supreme Court. “Not every state is going to be able to protect their citizens on this front.”

However, Democrats on Capitol Hill have all but conceded that they lack the votes to lift the Hyde amendment, which has blocked nearly all federal funding for abortion since the 1970s.

Related

ShareTweetSendSend

Related Posts

The border buses: New York City’s migrant crisis | States of America
Videos

The border buses: New York City’s migrant crisis | States of America

January 30, 2023
President Biden Delivers Remarks at the National Action Network Martin Luther King, Jr Day Breakfast
Videos

President Biden Delivers Remarks at the National Action Network Martin Luther King, Jr Day Breakfast

January 17, 2023
Speaker McCarthy: A weakened leader or emboldened survivor?
Politics

Speaker McCarthy: A weakened leader or emboldened survivor?

January 8, 2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Opening Remarks
Videos

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Opening Remarks

January 8, 2023
January 6 committee: What’s next for Trump legally and politically
US

January 6 committee: What’s next for Trump legally and politically

December 19, 2022
GIVING TUESDAY 2022
Be in the Know

GIVING TUESDAY 2022

November 29, 2022

My Cart

The border buses: New York City’s migrant crisis | States of America
Videos

The border buses: New York City’s migrant crisis | States of America

by admin
January 30, 2023

Categories

  • Be in the Know
  • Coronavirus
  • Politics
  • US
  • Videos
  • World

UnitedFrontIntl Store

My Account & Ordering
Cart
Checkout
Track My Order
Refund and Returns Policy
Privacy Policy
FAQs

Site Navigation

  • Home
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • About Us
  • Shipping Policy

Links

CNBC
Reuters

The New York Times
The Washington Post


Your tax-deductible gift is vital and will help us fund and maintain our website to bring you current news and information on a daily basis. Thank you in advance.

© 2022 United Front Intl

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
  • Be in the Know
  • Contact Us
  • Advertisement
  • Shop

© 2022 United Front Intl

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In