Legislation to make abortion legal throughout the United States has been defeated in the US Senate, amid solid Republican opposition and support from one Democrat representative.
Democrats had sought to head off an impending Supreme Court opinion that is expected to overturn the nearly 50-year-old Roe v Wade decision, which established the national right to abortion.
Wednesday’s effort was a protest gesture that never stood much chance of success.
With 49 votes in support and 51 against, the Women’s Health Protection Act was 11 short of the 60 votes needed to be fully debated in the 100-member Senate.
All 50 Republicans voted to block the bill. They were joined by a lone Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin.
Before the vote, more than two dozen House Democrats, mainly women, marched from the House of Representatives to the Senate, chanting: “My body, my decision”.
They then entered the Senate chamber and sat quietly along a back wall while senators debated abortion rights.
US President Joe Biden expressed his disappointment in the outcome of the vote via Twitter and urged voters to elect more pro-choice senators.
“As fundamental rights are at risk at the Supreme Court, Senate Republicans have blocked passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act,” he wrote.
“They have chosen to stand in the way of Americans’ rights to make the most personal decisions about their own bodies, families and lives,” Mr Biden wrote.
“To protect the right to choose, voters need to elect more pro-choice senators this November, and return a pro-choice majority to the House. If they do, Congress can pass this bill in January, and put it on my desk, so I can sign it into law.”
As fundamental rights are at risk at the Supreme Court, Senate Republicans have blocked passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act. They have chosen to stand in the way of Americans’ rights to make the most personal decisions about their own bodies, families and lives.
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 11, 2022
