Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will force the Senate to vote on legislation to codify abortion rights after the leak of a Supreme Court draft decision that indicates the court would overturn Roe v. Wade.
"Next week the U.S. Senate is going to vote on legislation to codify a woman’s right to seek abortion into federal law," Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor, according to The Hill.
He said the initial vote is planned for Wednesday. The legislation is not expected to gain the 60 votes needed to advance, but Democrats hope to get Republicans to go on the record about the issue. A previous bill with similar measures failed to pass the Senate this year by a vote of 46-48, and Democrats have altered the text of the legislation to address some of the concerns that kept it from passing. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., joined with Republicans in voting against the bill at the time.
Schumer went on to hit Republicans for focusing on investigating the source and circumstances of the leak rather than what the leak revealed.
"All week we’ve been seeing Republicans try to duck, dodge, and dip from their responsibility for bringing Roe to the brink of total repeal," Schumer said.
"Next week the American people will see crystal clear that when given the chance to right this wrong, the Republican Party will either side with the extremists who want to ban abortion without exceptions or side with women, with families and with the vast majority of Americans."
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine introduced their own, more limited bill to codify Roe v. Wade.
Collins said that she’s "been having discussions with some of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle," and Manchin said he’s "looking at" the bill, but did not say if he was willing to vote for it.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said that he’s "talked with Sen. Collins with her bill with Sen. Murkowski," and said that he’s "hoping we can find some common ground."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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