House passes legislation protecting the right to an abortion, but bill faces unlikely prospects in the Senate
Pelosi says House will vote on abortion access bill in response to Supreme Court decision on Texas law
More:Texas abortion law could hurt Republicans in 2022 midterm elections, experts say
The Texas law doesn’t include exceptions for rape or incest but allows people to have the procedure for “medical emergencies.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday morning the legislation is about “freedom.”
told the Los Angeles Times she opposes the legislation because it is “harmful and extreme.”
Report: GOP Sen. Susan Collins says she will not support Democrats’ abortion-rights bill
“I support codifying Roe. Unfortunately the bill … goes way beyond that. It would severely weaken the conscious exceptions that are in the current law,” Collins said, according to the Times.
Collins said it would weaken the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which prohibits the government from burdening the exercise of religion.
More:South Dakotans will join country in fifth Women’s March. This time it’s against Texas’ abortion ban.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, reproductive rights moved back to center stage once again with abortion access advocates decrying the law and many conservative states leading a nationwide push to overturn Roe v. Wade.
In response, the Women’s March, which turned up thousands of protesters in 2017 and 2018 across the country, announced they are hosting events nationwide again in early October in support of reproductive rights.
More:South Dakotans will join country in fifth Women’s March. This time it’s against Texas’ abortion ban.
The Supreme Court’s work on abortion isn’t over. The court is expected to hear a blockbuster challenge to Mississippi’s ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
That dispute, which could be argued at the court later this year and decided next summer right before the elections, is expected to address central questions about the constitutionality of abortion and restrictions on it imposed by states.
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act, said Friday that “Congress must protect the rights of women and pregnant people in every zip code, putting an end to an attack on abortion once and for all.”