The House accepted the bills in an effort to counter the Supreme Court’s reversal of the long-standing legal precedent by stating that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to abortion. But bills are well on their way to running into a wall in the Senate, where there is not enough support for any of the laws to exceed the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold.
The first bill passed by the House was HR 8296, the 2022 Women’s Health Protection Act, which is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Judy Chu of California. The bill aims to preserve access to abortion nationwide at the federal level.
The bill, however, has previously been blocked in the Senate. In May, a key Senate vote failed with Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a moderate Democrat, who teamed up with Republicans to vote against the measure and prevent it from moving forward.
At the time it was expected that the bill would not advance in the Senate amid widespread resistance from the GOP, but the result of the vote stressed, however, how Democrats remain very limited in what they can achieve in terms of safeguarding. access to abortion only with an extremely narrow majority in the Senate.
The other bill the House Democrats passed Friday was HR 8297, the 2022 abortion guarantee law sponsored by Democratic Rep. Lizzie Fletcher of Texas.
The bill largely approved party lines, with only three cross-votes, including Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton and Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who joined Democrats in voting on the bill. The final vote was 223 to 205.
The measure aims to protect the right to travel to seek access to abortion and would prohibit anyone from restricting or hindering a person’s ability to cross state borders to obtain an abortion in a state where it is legal to perform. -ho.
The vote to pass the bill in the House comes when the Supreme Court’s decision to revoke Roe v. Wade has led states to implement their own abortion policies. The ruling has already resulted in a nationwide mosaic system in which access to the procedure is, for many people, largely determined by whether a state is controlled by Republicans or Democrats.
The so-called activating laws (prohibitions designed to take effect with the annulment of Roe v. Wade) are applicable in some states after the Supreme Court ruling, while in others, the prohibitions await official action. .
This story and headline have been updated with additional news on Friday.
CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.