The House of Representatives passes a measure to protect the right to abortion

By Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro - 

Associated Press

The House of Representatives approved this Friday, thanks to the Democratic majority, a bill that guarantees the right to abortion until the fetus is viable, in response to new Texas legislation that prohibits this right from the sixth week.

The approval of this bill (by 218 votes in favor and 211 against) has above all symbolic value, since it is almost impossible for the Senate to validate it (where Democrats and Republicans have 50 seats and it takes 60 to carry out a law).

Democrats say they are doing everything they can to incorporate the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which guarantees the right to abortion, into US law after the highest court recently allowed the ruling to go into effect. Texas law that bans most abortions in the state. 

In December, the Supreme Court must hear arguments against Mississippi abortion, which seeks to nullify the right granted in the landmark 1973 decision. 

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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, holds a press conference just before the vote in the House of Representatives on the legislation aimed at guaranteeing the right of women to abortion.

Scott Applewhite / AP

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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat of California Nancy Pelosi, said that the congressional action would make a "huge difference" in efforts to uphold the right of people to access abortion.

Pelosi called the Supreme Court's decision "shameful" and contrary to her own precedent.

The Democratic representative said just before Friday's vote that the law should “send a very positive message to the women of our country, but not only to women, but also to their families, to all who value freedom, honor our Constitution and respect women ”.

Republicans, including the few who are in favor of abortion rights, voted overwhelmingly against the legislation, which would replace existing state laws on the issue, allow health care providers to perform abortions, and guarantee that right of women. pregnant 

Opposing lawmakers argue that it would prevent states from setting requirements, such as parental involvement in the decision, and could weaken laws that allow doctors to refuse to perform the procedure. 

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The legislation "is not about the freedom of women, but about the death of babies," said Missouri Republican Representative Vicky Hartzler.

It added that it would remove protections for women and girls who can be coerced into aborting.

“It ends the life of a living human being with a plan and a purpose from God and who deserves to live,” Hartzler said.

The vote came at a time when Democrats have boldly spoken out in public about fighting the Supreme Court - which has a solid conservative majority following the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett last year - while privately struggling to find an effective strategy. 

["It has consequences for life."

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The Democratic Party controls Congress by a slim margin, including the Senate, where it has half the legislators, making it difficult to pass legislation.