US: Senate prepares for historic vote on law to preserve abortion access nationwide

The vote is expected to fail in light of Republican opposition - however, its drafting will give Democrats an opportunity to put the issue in the spotlight and criticize Republicans' opposition to legislation.

A document was unveiled this month, according to which the Supreme Court intends to repeal the "Row v. Wade" law that protected the right to abortion

Tali Goldstein

11/05/2022

Wednesday, 11 May 2022, 21:57 Updated: 22:20

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on Twitter

• Share on Email

• Share on general

• Comments

  Comments

The U.S. Senate will vote tonight (Wednesday) in a "historic" vote, according to commentators, on a bill that intends to preserve access to abortions across the United States.

The vote comes at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court may overturn the groundbreaking ruling on the 1973 issue, "Row v. Wade," as early as next month, as revealed by a document leaked to Politico earlier this month.

The vote is likely to fail in light of widespread Republican opposition.

As a result, the Senate will fail to mobilize the support needed to pass the 60-vote threshold required to pass most of the legislation.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, who is considered a dove, will join Republicans in opposing the law - a move that highlights the deep split on the issue of abortion among Democrats.

The failure to advance the law would reflect how limited Democrats are in their ability to pass legislation with their narrow majority in the Senate, while the party faces heavy pressure to take action on abortion rights - amid fears that "Rod vs. Wade" will soon be repealed.

However, voting would give Democrats a chance to put the issue back in the spotlight and criticize Republicans' opposition to passing legislation.

More on Walla!

Watch: How to make dinner with the kids an experiential activity?

In collaboration with Galil

In the video: Demonstrations against the leak, according to which the Supreme Court is considering repealing the law that allows abortions in the US (Photo: Reuters)

The law that Democrats will try to pass - the "Women's Health Protection Act" - is a codification of the right to abortion in federal law and a guarantee of the right of health care providers to perform abortions.

An earlier version of the law passed in the House of Representatives failed to advance in the Senate earlier this year, amid Republican opposition.

Abortion supporter demonstrates outside Texas Capitol Hill during women's parade, October 2, 2021 (Photo: Reuters)

On May 3, the Politico website leaked a preliminary opinion from Supreme Court justices that the Supreme Court is expected to vote to overturn the revolutionary ruling "Row v. Wade," which enshrined in the Constitution the right to abortion in the United States.

The leak from the Supreme Court, where a majority is conservative, is considered unprecedented and immediately sparked a public outcry over the controversial issue in the country.

In the document, the judges wrote that the "Row v. Wade" ruling, which states that any law in the United States that prohibits abortion violates the Constitution, is "fundamentally blatantly wrong."

The news site published what was called the "first draft of the legal opinion" in a case seeking to lift the abortion ban 15 weeks after the start of her pregnancy in Mississippi, a case dubbed "Dobs Against Jackson's Women's Health Organization."

The Supreme Court has not yet given its final ruling in the case and is expected to rule on the case from late June to early July.

The draft was signed by Judge Samuel Alito, a member of the conservative majority of the court, appointed by former President George W. Bush.

"We believe that the decision of Row v. Wade should be overturned. It is time to listen to the constitution and return the issue of abortions to the elected representatives of the people."

The draft actually states that there is no constitutional justification for approving abortions, and will allow states to tighten control over the procedure - and even abolish it definitively.

• news

• World news

• America

Tags

• United States

• Abortions

• Supreme Court of the United States

• Snat