"… The U.S. Senate [has] once again rejected legislation that would have endangered women and unborn babies under the guise of 'health care.' The so-called 'Women's Health Protection Act' would have prohibited most – if not all – of the reasonable state laws related to abortion that are currently in place to protect the health of pregnant mothers, the dignity of unborn children, and the integrity of the medical profession. "Despite claims from Senate Democrats that this legislation is about preserving Roe v. Wade in anticipation of a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the bill goes well beyond even the current Roe standard in its attempt to entrench unrestricted abortion access until birth. "Time and time again the American people have expressed opposition to such extreme abortion policies, yet congressional Democrats insist on enacting legislation that appeals solely to the abortion industry and its allies." Denise Burke, Senior Counsel |
Late Wednesday afternoon, Senate Democrats fell far short in their attempt to advance legislation designed to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land. Needing 60 votes to bring the Women's Health Protection Act (S. 4132) to the floor, proponents of the radical bill were only able to muster 49 votes. In the process, Democrats lost one of their own – West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin was the sole Democrat to join every Republican senator.
Not to be deterred, Senate Democrats say they will continue to fight to codify Roe. That vow came after the failed vote. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) took to social media to call it "disgraceful."
"We need #WHPA to prevent radical right-wing state legislatures from enacting extreme bills that deny abortion rights," Warren tweeted. "This fight is not over – and I'm in it all the way."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) blamed "MAGA Republicans."
"Americans will not forget who voted to protect a woman's right to make her own decisions about her body – who voted to protect abortion rights. Today's vote was just one step …. We will keep fighting for women's rights," Schumer tweeted.
Even before the vote occurred, Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) tweeted that he will vote to "codify Roe today, tomorrow, and until we get it done."
Responding to these and other statements, GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel (left) said an expansion of abortion rights is out of step with the American people.
"First of all, we know that 85% of the American people absolutely want limits on abortion – and [it's so frightening] to see the Democrats keep pushing further and further limits up to the due date to abort a baby who we know could live," McDaniel said on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins.
"… They're abandoning religious freedom, they're abandoning … people who don't want to pay [for abortions] with their tax dollars, and they're demonizing anybody who's pro-life who doesn't think like they do," she continued. "They are so radical on this issue. I don't understand it because it really isn't where the American people are right now."
Vote has exposed the extremists
Carol Tobias of the National Right to Life Committee tells AFN the vote yesterday wasn't unexpected because Senator Schumer failed to get a similar bill passed a couple of months ago.
"But it's still disappointing that we had 49 senators trying to establish a national law of the land that would allow abortion for all nine months of pregnancy, for any reason, in all 50 states – regardless of what the states wanted [and] regardless of what the people wanted," she shares.
Schumer called for the vote this time to put senators on record leading up to midterm elections in the hopes of encouraging voters to oust pro-life senators. That, says Tobias, is reason enough to put pro-life candidates in both houses of Congress.
"But what [Senator Schumer] is not realizing is that the position he puts forward is supported by a very small percentage of the American public," says Tobias. "So, this [vote actually] is going to expose those Democratic candidates who voted for the bill for their radical nature – and you can be sure we are going to be putting that information out as far and as wide as we can in those states."
Like Tobias, Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League contends the vote was a ploy by Schumer and other Democratic leaders to convince Americans to vote for liberal congressional candidates in the upcoming midterms.
"They're hoping that the public's response to the possibility the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade – if that's what comes to pass – will fire up pro-choice voters," Scheidler tells AFN. "But I think the pro-life base is much more mobilized … and I think we can draw people into our pro-life voting coalition with this kind of extremist measure now on record."
More than two dozen states already have life-sustaining laws on the books, some of which would kick in immediately if Roe is overturned. It that turns out to be the case, Scheidler sees a great opportunity for the pro-life community.
"In about half the states we're going to see a tremendous new opportunity to save lives and also to help those mothers who are facing a desperate and difficult choice," he describes. "We want to be as helpful as we possibly can."
He adds: "It's really down to those pro-life states now to create a pro-life culture where not only is abortion limited by the law but the choice for life is supported by the community."
The Supreme Court could release its final ruling on Roe within the next several weeks. The case is Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
