WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Wednesday failed to advance a bill to establish a federal right to abortion, but they still hoped the effort would draw a sharp political contrast with Republicans who largely support the Supreme Court’s expected ruling to undo the Roe v. Wade decision.
Democrats knew their effort would fail. The vote was 49-51, with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., joining all Republicans in opposition. The procedural measure needed 60 votes to overcome the filibuster threshold.
But Democrats said they wanted to send a political message to voters, particularly in states with Senate races this November that could determine party control of the chamber, such as Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin.
“When November comes, Americans everywhere need to make their voices heard by sending more pro-choice voices to the Senate and to the House so we can get this done,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
Democrats said the Women’s Health Protection Act would codify the 1973 Roe decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.
The bill would also prohibit many of the state-level abortion restrictions that exist today, such as laws that mandate abortion clinics meet certain surgical facility standards, a requirement that shuttered some clinics in states with the laws.
The vote came as both parties prepare for the expected Supreme Court ruling, which, if it tracks largely to a leaked draft published by Politico last week, would allow states to set their own abortion policy.
Democrats are hoping to corral abortion rights supporters’ anger to the ballot box this fall. Republicans are trying to avoid appearing as though they’re spiking the football before a decision is final, but some are already preparing for the next fight: attempting to pass a national abortion ban.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Tuesday refused to rule out a vote on a national abortion ban if Republicans are in the majority in the future. He said the Senate is likely to continue to hold votes on abortion legislation, as it has done occasionally in the past and on Wednesday. But he pointed out that no abortion policy bill in recent memory has achieved 60 votes.
He added that “the widespread sentiment in my conference is this issue will be dealt with at the state level.”
Democrats have pledged to fight to keep abortion available nationwide and called Wednesday’s doomed vote the first step in that process. They have not said what else they might try.
In February, the Senate held a vote on a nearly identical abortion bill, and it fell 46-48.
“This is the first time this is no longer just an abstract exercise. Now we know women’s rights are at stake,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said before the vote. “We’re going to keep fighting and we will be pursuing the best path forward.”
The party is facing the difficult reality that even though it narrowly controls the Senate, it doesn’t have 50 Democrats who support abortion rights, due to Manchin’s opposition. Without a 60-vote majority or 50 Democrats willing to overturn or carve out the filibuster for abortion rights, they have no legislative arrows in their quiver.
Still, there are small signs of movement within the party. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, a Democrat who has long opposed abortion rights, supported Wednesday’s procedural vote on the bill and said he would vote for final passage, if given the chance.
Casey voted as recently as 2018 in support of advancing a bill that would ban abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy, along with other votes in support of anti-abortion policy. His political career built on the legacy of his father, the anti-abortion legislator named in the 1992 Planned Parenthood vs. Casey case in which the court reaffirmed abortion rights through fetal viability, or about 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Casey attributed his reversal to the leaked Supreme Court decision and the Republicans who are pushing a national six-week abortion ban. “The real question of the moment is: Do you support a categorical ban on abortion?” Casey said in a statement. “During my time in public office, I have never voted for — nor do I support — such a ban.”
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, two lawmakers who typically buck their party to support abortion rights, opposed the Democrats’ bill.
They argued it goes further than merely codifying Roe. They take particular opposition to the bill’s elimination of existing protections for health care workers who oppose abortion and wish to refuse to participate in the procedure. Democrats dispute their interpretation of the bill.
The two Republicans have introduced a slimmer measure that would establish a federal right to abortion before viability but allow states to continue to regulate the procedure. Democrats say doing so would provide a loophole for states that oppose abortion.
“We are not looking to compromise something as vital as this,” Schumer said.
While Democrats might be able to curry two additional votes on an abortion bill if they were to hold a vote on the Collins and Murkowski alternative, they risk losing the support of progressives. And they would still be far from the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
