在上周一个爆炸性的泄露之后最高法院意见草案表明法院的保守派多数可能很快推翻周三参议院民主党人罗伊诉韦德案强行投票推进一项将堕胎权纳入联邦法律的法案。
这《妇女健康保护法》将Roe诉Wade案的裁决编纂成法律，同时也禁止一些州实施的与堕胎护理有关的要求，如等待期和手术前强制性的医生探视。但由于没有克服共和党领导的阻挠所需的60票，该立法在参议院以49比51失败，民主党人争相寻找替代方案。
西弗吉尼亚州的民主党参议员乔·曼钦(Joe Manchin)脱离了他的政党，加入了每一位共和党参议员的行列，投票反对推进该法案。
乔·拜登总统谴责参议院共和党人“在妇女的宪法权利受到前所未有的攻击时”未能采取行动，这违背了大多数美国人民的意愿
“国会中的共和党人——没有一个人投票支持这项法案——选择了阻碍美国人对自己的身体、家庭和生活做出最个人决定的权利，”拜登在投票结束后的一份声明中说为了保护选择权，选民需要在今年11月选举更多支持堕胎的参议员，并将支持堕胎的多数席位交还给众议院。如果他们这样做，国会可以在一月份通过这项法案，并把它放在我的办公桌上，这样我就可以签署它成为法律。"
即使没有他的核心小组的全力支持，参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)也认为这次投票是值得的，可以让共和党人记录在案，称之为“我们几十年来最重要的投票之一”。
舒默在周三上午的发言中说:“在我们担任公职的剩余时间里，我们所有人都必须对这次投票负责。”“在这一天结束之前，这个机构的每个成员都将做出选择，要么与妇女站在一起保护她们的自由，要么与共和党人站在一起，将我们的国家带入一个黑暗和压抑的未来。”
“对于我们的国家来说，这是一个残酷压抑的危险愿景，但这恰恰是MAGA共和党人正在努力实现的未来，”他补充说，描绘了一个没有堕胎权的国家。
白宫表示，副总统哈里斯主持了下午的投票，不是为了打破该法案的僵局，而是因为她长期以来一直为保护生育权而斗争。
“可悲的是，参议院未能捍卫女性对自己身体做出决定的权利，”她在呼吁投票后告诉记者。“让我们明确一点:大多数美国人相信捍卫女性选择的权利，决定她自己身体的命运，这次投票清楚地表明，参议院在这个问题上不是大多数美国人的立场。
senate.gov
副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯主持参议院关于堕胎权利的投票...
最近的一次ABC新闻/华盛顿邮报民意调查我发现大多数美国人支持维持罗伊，这是民主党人在中期选举前提到的一点。
舒默周一提交了一份关于开始辩论的动议的结论《妇女健康保护法》该法案将于周三进行程序性唱名表决。该法案去年在众议院获得通过，但在2月份已经失败了一次，当时舒默未能在46-48的投票中获得整个民主党核心小组的支持。民主党目前控制着参议院的50个席位，参议院主席哈里斯是他们打破僵局的一票，但根据宪法，需要60票才能结束对一项立法的辩论阻挠议事规则。
民主党人不仅缺乏通过共和党领导的阻挠所需的60票，而且缺乏他们核心小组的全力支持，因为曼钦今年早些时候与共和党人一起投票阻止这项措施，他周三早些时候表示，他将再次投反对票。
“如果是今天，我会投票赞成罗伊诉韦德案的编纂。我对此抱有希望，但我昨天在党团会议上发现这是不可能的，”他告诉记者。
共和党人和曼钦称《妇女健康保护法》过于宽泛，促使民主党起草了一份修改版本。缅因州参议员苏珊·科林斯和阿拉斯加州参议员莉萨·穆尔科斯基是唯一支持堕胎权的参议院共和党人人，他们本周告诉记者，该法案对他们来说仍然太过分了，他们将投反对票。例如，该法案没有保护天主教医院拒绝实施堕胎的权利，柯林斯对此提出异议。
柯林斯周三在一份声明中说:“今天的投票失败后，我计划继续与我的同事们一起努力立法，以维持——而不是扩大或限制——这个国家目前的堕胎权利法律框架。”
她和穆尔科斯基有他们自己的提案来编纂Roe，称为生殖选择法案，他们说，这将禁止各州对妇女选择终止妊娠的能力施加“不适当的负担”，但允许各州保留其他限制。然而，本周至少有17个堕胎权利团体表示不会保护堕胎权利。
NARAL Pro-Choice America主席Mini Timmaraju表示，他们的立法，正如所写的那样，实际上会削弱现行法律下的保护措施。
她在一份声明中说:“面对最高法院前所未有的攻击，如果这些参议员真的关心维护生殖自由，他们可以投票支持《妇女健康保护法》(WHPA)，这是一项实际上保护堕胎权免受医学上不必要的禁令和限制的法案。”“相反，他们正在参与政治戏剧，并对WHPA是什么和做什么做出误导性的声明。”
弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员蒂姆·凯恩周二告诉美国广播公司新闻频道(ABC News)的特里什·特纳(Trish Turner)，自上周以来，他一直在与科林斯谈判，试图改变《生殖选择法案》(Reproductive Choice Act)，以在联邦法律中找到一种保护堕胎和避孕权利的方式。
“我们希望从Griswold开始，通过整个女性健康案件，编纂一套控股，”凯恩说，这是两党的努力，指的是最高法院案件Griswold v. Connecticut维护宪法规定的婚姻隐私权。但是，这项措施同样需要60票才能通过共和党的阻挠。
预计到参议院的投票，堕胎权利活动家们周二晚上从最高法院外面涌向美国国会大厦的台阶，呼吁立法者在全国范围内保护堕胎权。
“不会有更多的隐藏。不会再让人分心了。舒默周二在参议院表示:“不要再混淆在座各位的立场了。”。“参议院共和党人将面临选择。要么投票保护妇女对自己身体行使自由的权利，要么与最高法院站在一起，看着50年来的妇女权利在我们眼前变成废墟。”
Senate Republicans block bill that would codify Roe v. Wade abortion rights
In the wake of a bombshell leak last week of aSupreme Court draft opinionindicating the court's conservative majority could soon overturn Roe v. Wade, Senate Democrats on Wednesdayforced a voteto advance a bill that would enshrine abortion rights into federal law.
TheWomen's Health Protection Actwould codify the Roe v. Wade ruling while also banning requirements some states have put into place related to abortion care, such as waiting periods and mandatory doctor visits before the procedure. But without the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP-led filibuster, the legislation failed in the Senate 49-51, sending Democrats scrambling for alternatives.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia broke from his party and joined every single Republican senator to vote against advancing the bill.
President Joe Biden condemned Senate Republicans for failing to act "at a time when women’s constitutional rights are under unprecedented attack -- and it runs counter to the will of the majority of American people."
"Republicans in Congress -- not one of whom voted for this bill -- have chosen to stand in the way of Americans’ rights to make the most personal decisions about their own bodies, families and lives," Biden said in a statement just after the vote. "To protect the right to choose, voters need to elect more pro-choice senators this November, and return a pro-choice majority to the House. If they do, Congress can pass this bill in January, and put it on my desk, so I can sign it into law."
Even without the full support of his caucus, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer argued the vote was worth taking, to put Republicans on the record, calling it "one of the most consequential we will take in decades."
"All of us will have to answer for this vote for the rest of our time in public office," Schumer said in floor remarks Wednesday morning. "Before the day is over, every member of this body will make a choice stand with women to protect their freedoms or stand with MAGA Republicans to take our country into a dark and repressive future."
"This is a cruel repressive dangerous vision for our country, but it is precisely the future that MAGA Republicans are working towards," he added, portraying a nation without abortion access.
Vice President Harris presided as the afternoon vote began, not to break a tie on the bill, but because she has long fought to protect reproductive rights, the White House said.
"Sadly, the Senate failed to stand in defense of a woman's right to make decisions about her own body," she told reporters after calling the vote. "And let's be clear: The majority of the American people believe in defending a woman's right to choice, to decide what happens to her own body, and this vote clearly suggests that the Senate is not where the majority of Americans are on this issue.
A recentABC News/Washington Post pollfound a majority of Americans support upholding Roe, a point Democrats are hitting on ahead of the midterm elections.
Schumer filed cloture on Monday on a motion to start debate on theWomen's Health Protection Act, setting the bill up for a procedural roll call vote on Wednesday. The bill cleared the House last year but already failed once to pass through the upper chamber in February, when Schumer failed to get the entire Democratic caucus on board, in a 46-48 vote. Democrats currently control 50 seats in the Senate with Harris, as president of the Senate, serving as their tie-breaking vote -- but 60 votes are needed to end debate on a piece of legislation, under thefilibuster rule.
Not only did Democrats lack the 60 votes needed to get past a GOP-led filibuster, but they lacked the full support of their caucus, since Manchin, who voted with Republicans to block the measure earlier this year, said earlier Wednesday he would, again, vote "no."
"I would vote for a Roe v. Wade codification if it was today. I was hopeful for that, but I found out yesterday in caucus that wasn't going to be," he told reporters.
Republicans and Manchin have called theWomen's Health Protection Acttoo broad, prompting Democrats to draft a modified version. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska -- the sole Senate Republicans who support abortion rights -- told reporters this week the bill still goes too far for them and that they would be voting "no." For instance, the bill doesn't protect the right of Catholic hospitals to refuse to perform abortions, which Collins took issue with.
"After today’s vote fails, I plan to continue working with my colleagues on legislation to maintain -- not expand or restrict -- the current legal framework for abortion rights in this country," Collins said in a statement Wednesday.
She and Murkowski have their own proposal to codify Roe called the Reproductive Choice Act, which they say would prohibit states from imposing an "undue burden" on the ability of a woman to choose to terminate a pregnancy pre-viability but allow states to keep other restrictions in place. However, at least 17 abortion-rights groups this week said would not protect the right to abortion.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju said their legislation, as written, would actually weaken protections found under current law.
"If these senators truly cared about safeguarding reproductive freedom in the face of an unprecedented assault from the Supreme Court, they could vote for the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA), a bill that actually secures the right to abortion against medically unnecessary bans and restrictions," she said in a statement. "Instead, they're engaging in political theater and making misleading claims about what WHPA is and does."
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told ABC News' Trish Turner on Tuesday he's been negotiating with Collins since last week to try to change the Reproductive Choice Act to find a way in federal law to protect access to abortion and contraception.
"We would like to codify the set of holdings beginning with Griswold up through the Whole Women's Health case," Kaine said of the bipartisan effort, referring to the Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut upholding a constitutional marital right of privacy. But that measure, again, would need 60 votes to clear a GOP filibuster.
Anticipating the Senate vote, abortion-rights activists spilled over from outside the Supreme Court to the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday night,calling on lawmakersto protect abortion access nationwide.
"There'll be no more hiding. There'll be no more distracting. No more obfuscating where every member in this chamber stands," Schumer said Tuesday on the Senate floor. "Senate Republicans will face a choice. Either vote to protect the rights of women to exercise freedom over their own bodies, or stand with the Supreme Court as 50 years of women's rights are reduced to rubble before our very eyes."
