House of Representatives re-passes bill codifying abortion rights into legislation Moderates in Senate say violations of religious freedom and vote to protect right to cross state lines for procedure
- All Republicans voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 to codify abortion rights
- All Democrats except Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, voted in favor of the bill
- None of the abortion bills are likely to end up anywhere in the Senate
- The House first passed the Women’s Health Protection Act in February
- It failed in the Senate without the votes of Sens. Joe Manchin, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski
The House of Representatives on Friday passed a Bill 219-210 codifying the right to an abortion and a 223-205 to ensure women can travel across state lines to receive the procedure if necessary.
Everyone republican voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 to codify abortion rights and all democrat except Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, voted for the bill.
The House of Representatives voted to pass the Abortion Accessibility Act that would enshrine protections for interstate abortions, with three Republicans joining all Democrats to vote yes.
None of the bills are expected to go anywhere senate.
The House first passed an updated version of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) after first passing the measure in February. The bill fell 51-49 in a procedural vote in the Senate in May.
The bill would have needed 60 votes, 10 from Republicans, to pass but failed to secure even a simple majority due to Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va , and Susan Collins, Maine.
Congress faced increasing pressure to take action on abortion rights after the Supreme Court voted in June to rule Roe v. Wade to overturn the landmark 1973 case legalizing the pre-existence of abortion in the Jackson v. Women’s Health Organization case.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, who opposed the Supreme Court’s overthrow of Roe last month and tabled their own legislation codifying abortion laws, say the WHPA is going too far and could violate the protection of religious freedom.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with the support of House Democrats, speaks before a vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) on abortion rights.
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., who introduced the WHPA, speaks before the second successful House vote on the bill she is chairing
Democrats also passed legislation that would prevent women or healthcare providers from being prosecuted for abortions if a woman travels across state lines to obtain an abortion.
No state currently bans out-of-state travel for abortions, although conservative lawmakers in a handful of GOP-led states have floated the idea. On the other hand, some liberal states have already taken steps to become abortion safe havens, promising to refuse to cooperate in cross-border investigations into abortion cases.
In all, 26 states have laws that indicate they plan to ban or severely limit abortion in their state since Roe’s ouster.
On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the second vote on the WHPA, which will not pass the Senate, rather than working with moderates on a leaner bill that could win some Republican votes.
“We will not negotiate a woman’s right to vote. Senators Murkowski and Senator Collins may have their opinions, but it’s not about a woman having the right to decide. So we’re not negotiating that, no,” Pelosi said in her weekly brief
