Senate Republicans blocked a bill that was already passed in the House of Representatives that aimed to preserve the right to abortions nationwide.
The Women’s Health Protection Act aimed to protect an individual’s ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, as well as protect health care providers’ abilities to provide abortion services.
The bill was blocked in the Senate on nearly party-line votes, with all Republicans voting against the measure, as well as one Democrat. It was blocked 46 to 48. The Senate requires at least 60 votes in order to break a filibuster.
The bill was passed in the House in late September, also among nearly party lines.
Republican-led states have been introducing and advancing bills across the United States to make it harder for women to have access to safe abortions. Some bills even threaten healthcare providers in an effort to stop the procedures overall.
Two states, in particular, caused Congress to fight for abortions to be protected at a national level. An extremely controversial, and extremely restrictive, Texas abortion law came into effect in September.
It bans abortions after six weeks, which is before almost all women know that they are pregnant and makes zero exception for rape or incest. It allows private citizens to become bounty hunters and bring civil suits against anyone who assists a pregnant person seeking an abortion, with offers of a cash reward.
In Mississippi, there is a direct challenge to the landmark Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. The state law bans almost all abortions at the 15-week mark, which is before the guaranteed access provided by Roe at 24 weeks.
The case is now sitting in front of the Supreme Court. If the high court rules in favor of the anti-abortion Mississippi law, other states have “trigger laws” that will go into effect immediately upon the ruling.
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