The Senate rushed on Wednesday into an almost-certain-to-fail vote toward enshrining Roe v. Wade abortion access into federal law, a blunt display of the nation's partisan divide over the landmark court decision and the limits of legislative action.
The roll call promised to be the first of several efforts in Congress to preserve the nearly 50-year-old court ruling, which declares a constitutional right to abortion services but is at serious risk of being overturned by a conservative Supreme Court.
