Abortion fight comes to House, Senate floors

Legislative battles over abortion access are heating up in the House and Senate as Democrats look to raise pressure on Republicans.

 

A round of bills aimed at protecting abortion access that were introduced by Democrats were considered on Capitol Hill last week, leading to the first instances of lawmakers butting heads over such legislation since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month.

 

Though the bills are unlikely to pass in the evenly divided Senate, where they would require bipartisan support to overcome the legislative filibuster, Democrats are pushing for action in the aftermath of the court’s decision and seeking to get GOP members of Congress on the record objecting to legislation on the issue in an apparent attempt to paint Republicans as going to extremes to stop abortions.

 

Targeted legislation: The House on Friday passed a bill 223-205 that would protect out-of-state travel for abortion services, with three Republicans — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Fred Upton (Mich.) — joining Democrats in voting for the measure.

 

“It is absolutely important to get Republicans on the record to how far they will go to restrict a woman’s right,” Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) told The Hill. “Are they really saying that women should not be allowed to travel to another state to get a medical procedure?”

 

President Biden has previously called on voters to elect more pro-abortion rights lawmakers when the Women’s Health Protection Act failed to pass in a Senate vote earlier this year.

 

“We actually need to do all things,” Chu said of the multiple approaches Democrats are taking to protect abortion access. “There have been marches and demonstrations and rallies all across America on a continuous basis for these three weeks. We need to do that and we also need to point to the elections.”