Supreme Court Roe Vs. House passes bills codifying abortion rights after attack on Wade

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The House on Friday passed legislation protecting access to reproductive health care, including the ability to travel across state lines for abortions, as part of Democrats’ efforts to mitigate the effects of the Supreme Court overturn. Roe v. Wade Last month.

One bill, the Women’s Health Care Act, includes safeguards Roe v. Wade Legally. The House had already passed the bill last year, but it was not passed Move forward in the Senate Vote in May. The House passed the bill 219-210, prompting applause from Democrats in the chamber. All Republicans and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.) voted against the measure.

Another bill, Reaffirming Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom, reaffirms the right of a person seeking an abortion to travel freely across state lines. The House voted 223-205, with three Republicans — Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Fred Upton (Mich.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) — along with all Democrats supporting the bill.

Despite passing the Democratic-led House, the bills are almost certain to fail in the Senate, where they would need 60 votes or a suspension of filibuster rules and a simple majority. Neither is likely in the face of Republican opposition.

The debate in the House underscored the deep divide between the two parties, with Democrats insisting they are the protectors of the “unborn” and Republicans pushing for more restrictions on women, including a national abortion ban.

There are no courts “Nor should states or politicians have the ability to make their own decisions about women’s health, their well-being and their future with their loved ones, their doctor and their God,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif). .). “If we claim to want freedom, to be a free and just society, we must ensure that this basic human right is finally guaranteed. law.”

As further evidence of their opposition to the measure, Republicans falsely renamed the legislation the “Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act” in their whip announcement — a misrepresentation of the bill — and repeated that claim on the House floor.

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Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) called abortion the “human rights issue” of a generation.

“Don’t cover your ears. Don’t close your eyes. Do not close your hearts and do not dehumanize a life,” the move was discussed in the House. “Let’s come together. Protect the human rights of the unborn. We cannot deny the lives of the most disadvantaged and marginalized among us.

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.). He argued that if abortion rights were destroyed, the most marginalized would suffer.

“My middle name is Blunt, so I’m pretty clear on who’s going to get hit the hardest,” she said. “Poor women, young women, women in rural areas and women of color. People who don’t have the ability to travel hundreds of miles to get the care they need.

A representative representing a district that was briefly pushed back by the Republican Party with its recent special election victory. Mera Flores (R-Tex.), said the bill does not align with the values ​​of voters in her district.

“Protecting the voiceless in this House and in every corner of this land must be a priority,” he said. “As a mother of four beautiful, strong children, I find it hard to believe that there are people who think that preserving life – even up to the last month of pregnancy – is optional.”

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) addressed Republicans directly during the debate, warning that the liberties conservatives cherish could be eroded next.

“You’re trying to take away people’s right to travel,” he said. “What in the world is this? Is this America?”

“They are coming for me today; They are coming for you tomorrow,” the lawmaker added.

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) pushed back against beliefs among religious conservatives about the origin of life while expressing her support for the legislation.

“If you believe life begins at conception, don’t have an abortion,” he said Friday. “But that’s your belief. It’s not science, and others may not share it.

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“I don’t think anyone here would force someone of your faith to have an abortion,” the mother of two added. “But you’re imposing your beliefs on others, and that’s wrong.”

Rep. Frank Ballon Jr. (DN.J.) argued that quick passage of the bill was necessary given Republican lawmakers’ long-term goal of a nationwide ban — and the immediate impact conservative justices have had on abortion rights.

“The court’s ideological decision ignores nearly 50 years of precedent and is the culmination of decades of relentless efforts by Republican politicians to control women and their bodies,” she said Friday. “Republicans have made it clear. It’s a start, pushing a national abortion ban.

In May, Senate Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin III (DW.Va.) Blocked Women’s Health Care Act On Thursday, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) blocked A Senate version of a bill would protect abortion seekers from traveling across state lines. Blame the Democrats Trying to “fuel, raise the what-ifs”.

Lankford’s comments drew serious attention after a 10-year-old Ohio girl was raped and had to travel to Indiana for an abortion, six weeks after the procedure was banned in Ohio.

The record shows that an Indiana doctor fulfilled a duty to report a 10-year-old child’s abortion

Co-sponsor of the Senate bill, Sen. Katherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), pushed back In Lankford, “radical, anti-choice policymakers” at the state level are already threatening to criminalize interstate travel for abortions — and even the prospect of that legislation has a chilling effect on abortion providers in states where the practice is legal.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that some states are going to continue to move forward with these types of laws,” Cortez Masto said. “It’s a form of gaslighting, insisting that we can care if we know that anti-choice lawmakers and groups are working to prevent American women from doing so. What legislators across the country are doing to prevent women from traveling is blatantly unconstitutional.

Despite the bills’ bleak future, Democrats are under pressure from their base to show that they are doing everything they can to protect abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Abortion rights activists have already accused the White House of not doing enough — particularly the draft Supreme Court decision Leaked in early May.

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Still, Pelosi defended the Biden administration’s response on Thursday.

“I have no doubts about this administration’s support for a woman’s right to choose and taking the necessary steps to ensure that,” Pelosi told reporters. “It’s something fundamental to who we are. It’s about freedom. It’s about health care. It’s about respect for women. It’s something the president is married to.

White House officials said Internal debate On whether abortion access should be declared a public health emergency. President Biden has said he will Support for changing the filibuster rules Abortion rights voters begin making their feelings known at the ballot box in the November midterm elections to protect abortion rights in the Senate.

Pelosi echoed that sentiment on Thursday, suggesting that only by electing Democratic senators could Congress pass legislation that would “really affect a woman’s right to choose.”

“We’re not going to negotiate a woman’s right to choose,” Pelosi said. “What are you going to bargain for? Can a woman be sterilized? Is this a reason for negotiation? Can people be sterilized? Yes or no? Here’s a little. A little there. No.”

Ahead of Friday’s House vote, Pelosi pledged her party would “fiercely defend freedoms for women” during an event on the Capitol steps, where dozens of lawmakers wore green. Color of the Abortion Rights Movement.

Pelosi said Democrats are sending a message to “give up on our reproductive health.”

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) announced that the House will vote next week on a bill to ensure access to contraception.

“American women deserve to make decisions about their own bodies and their own lives, including when they become pregnant and have children,” Hoyer said in a statement.

John Wagner contributed to this report.

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