In an interview with MSNBC, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) discussed his decision to oppose the Women’s Health Protection Act.
Manchin, who has said he would vote to codify abortion under the right bill, described the Women’s Health Protection Act as an “expansion” of abortion rather than the codification of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that could soon be overturned. He also decried how Congress had “divided” the nation over politics.
“The bill we have today to vote on, the Women’s Health Protection Act, and I respect people who support it, but make no mistake — it is not Roe v. Wade codification. It is an expansion,” Manchin stated. “It wipes 500 — 500 state laws off the books. It expands abortion.”
“And with that, that’s not where we are today,” he continued. “We should not be dividing this country further than we are already divided. And it’s really the politics of Congress that’s dividing the country. It’s not the people. They are telling us what they want. And it’s just disappointing that we are going to be voting on a piece of legislation which I will not vote for today.”
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