The U.S. Senate on Monday rejected the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” a radical abortion bill aimed at enshrining abortion on-demand and up-to-birth in federal law as well as voiding all state laws aimed at protecting the lives of the unborn.
The measure, which needed 60 votes to bypass the filibuster, failed 46-48 with all but one Democrat voting in favor — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) — who has described himself as pro-life and whose father, former Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey, Sr. (D), took Planned Parenthood to the Supreme Court over abortion — voted in favor of the measure as well.
“Biden, Pelosi and Schumer’s ‘Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act’ would enshrine an unlimited abortion ‘right’ in federal law and block common ground pro-life laws around the country, including limits on late-term abortions when unborn babies feel pain, bans on lethal discrimination abortions, and many more,” Susan B Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said ahead of the vote.
The bill comes as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case many view as the most significant challenge to Roe v. Wade in decades — as well as the one with the highest likelihood of overturning the case that paved the way for countless abortions in the United States.
If this bill were to become law, the Mississippi law at the center of Dobbs could be nullified, making the case moot. It would not only force the maintenance of Roe, it would actually go beyond by allowing the federal government to unilaterally take over the regulation of abortion in America and ensure extremely late-term abortion.
“The misnamed Women’s Health Protection Act is the most radical abortion bill in United States history,” March for Life President Jeanne Mancini said. “It would enshrine into federal law abortion on demand until the moment of birth, and it would nullify state laws – new and existing – that protect unborn children and their mothers.”
“The Act would rob the American people of their voice on this issue, even though an overwhelming majority (71%) including 49% of Democrats want to see abortion limited to – at most – the first three months of pregnancy,” she continued. “This bill is obviously designed by pro-abortion politicians to appease the abortion lobby. Lawmakers, regardless of party affiliation, must reject it.”
Senators went on record Monday evening on their support for the measure — which Catholic Association Senior Fellow Maureen Ferguson dubbed “Roe vs. Wade on steroids” — ahead of the midterm elections that are expected to be disastrous for Democrats. “It would override every limit on abortion everywhere in the country, including limits on late-term abortion, parental consent laws, and conscience protections for doctors and nurses who do not wish to participate in abortions,” Ferguson continued.
With the vote failing as expected, and nearly every Democrat voting in favor of its extremely unpopular provisions, many Republicans view the vote as an early campaign win for the midterms. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was effectively forced by his left-flank to put the bill up for a vote.
“We are here to throw cold water on the flames of anti-women bigotry and affirm five sacred words: Abortion is a fundamental right,” the New York Democrat declared last week.
The United States is already one of only seven countries in the world — joining the ranks of China and North Korea — to allow abortions past 20 weeks gestation. The bill before the Senate goes even beyond that.
“In pushing the Women’s Health Protection Act, the Democrats show that their pro-abortion extremism knows no bounds. The law, if passed, would override the will of the people in every state that has passed, through legislative means, commonsense protections for women and babies,” Catholic Association Senior Fellow Ashley McGuire said. “Those protections boast strong support, even among independents and Democrats, majorities of whom do not support the late-term barbaric abortions this proposed law enshrines.”
“The move to bring the Act for a vote shows that the party is whipped by the abortion lobby and has lost touch with voters and reality,” McGuire concluded. “The only thing more tragic than abortion is a party so committed to it that they would so brazenly override the overwhelming desire of Americans to have a say on the issue.”
Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.
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