The battle for the life of the unborn intensifies as the United States Senate rushes to cement Roe v. Wade into law as an outcome of the Supreme Court opinion draft leak last week.
Spectrum News Senior Executive Producer Justin Tasolides reported on Twitter that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Thursday their plans to codify a woman's right to abortion. Schumer pledged this will take place through the passing of the Women's Health Protection Act or House Bill 3755 this Wednesday. The bill, which needs 60 votes in the Senate, was passed last September in the House of Representatives.
"The Senate is going to vote next week on the Women's Health Protection Act to codify a woman's right to seek an abortion into federal law. I will file cloture on this vital legislation Monday, and that will set up a vote Wednesday. Americans will see where every senator stands," Schumer tweeted last May 5.
Democrats Bent On Codifying Roe v. Wade
United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to pass The Women's Health Protection Act to counteract the implementation of the Texas Heartbeat Act last September 1. The House of Representatives approved the bill, which is regarded as the most extreme abortion law since it allows the procedure until after birth, on a 218-211 vote. Pelosi defended her support for the bill as one borne from her God-given free will to uphold the alleged statutory right of women to have an abortion.
The passage of the bill in the House came after President Joe Biden expressed strong support for it. However, the bill was blocked in the Senate last March after 46 Republican Senators and Democrat Senator Joe Manchin voted against it during a procedural measure. But US News said the Democratic Party intends to force another procedural vote and filibuster on the bill this Wednesday after the draft leak on Roe v. Wade.
Also Read: House Approves Pro-Abortion Women's Health Protection Act - Biden Defends Anti-Life
Republicans Avoiding The Issue: Codify Roe V. Wade
According to Tasolides, the Democratic Party might push to make abortion politics a central focus of the midterm elections for the Republicans once they feel the bill won't pass in a 50-50 vote in the Senate. The Republicans are said to be avoiding the issue in an attempt to remain a united party for the midterm elections in November.
Schumer told US News that Republicans can run but they can not hide. He claimed that Republicans have only two choices when it comes to HB 3755: the destruction of women's rights or to prevent it by reversing the course. The majority leader said the American people will clearly see how the Republican party will right the wrong of overturning Roe v. Wade by either siding with abortion extremists or with women and their families. He alleged that the vast majority of Americans are against overturning Roe v. Wade.
In addition, Schumer pointed out that Wednesday's session on HB 3755 is the most important vote the Senate will make this year since it pertains to a woman's most personal and difficult decision in her life. He stressed that it is not an abstract exercise but is as urgent and real as it gets.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has already announced she is not going to join Schumer in his plans for HB 3755, highlighting that the bill is too general and does not provide protections for the exercise of conscience.
The United States Supreme Court draft opinion on the Dobbs V. Jackson case was authored by Associate Justice Samuel Alito on behalf of four other justices. The majority of the justices raised the opinion of the need to correct the faulty decision of the court in Roe v. Wade in 1973. The opinion was circulated internally in the court last February as per the standard procedure for a pending case.
However, the document got into the hands of Politico who published a copy online, prompting great pressure now on the justices. Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the published online copy as authentic and ordered an investigation of the breach.
Related News:Supreme Court Should Issue Abortion Ruling "Immediately' Since Leak Reflects Majority
