House Passes Abortion Rights Bills Despite Near-Certainty of Failure in Senate
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The House of Representatives voted 219-210 in favor of restoring national abortion protections as states continued implementing abortion bans in the absence of Roe v. Wade.
The bill, titled the Women's Health Protection Act, would prohibit restrictions on abortion access before fetal viability or after fetal viability if the life or health of the mother was at risk. The House also voted 223-205 in favor of prohibiting states from punishing those who cross state lines for abortion services. The votes were mostly along party lines; Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.) joined Republicans in opposing the first bill, and Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) joined Democrats in voting for the second bill.
Along with bills that would punish purported price gouging or establish federal election reforms, these bills are the latest in a series of measures passed by House Democrats despite near-impossible odds in an evenly-divided Senate. The Women's Health Protection Act itself was previously passed by the House in 2021, only to be blocked by Senate Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in 2022.
Coverage was widespread across the spectrum but more prominently featured in center and left-rated outlets; while The Hill (Center bias) and CBS News (Lean Left bias) featured the story near the top of their homepages, Fox News (Right bias) did not appear to cover the story at all by Friday evening.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
House passes bills to codify Roe, protect interstate travel for abortion
The House of Representatives on Friday passed two measures to restore abortion rights after the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The action comes as Democrats ramp up their political messaging on abortion ahead of the November midterm elections, hoping the issue will drive voters to the ballot box to preserve the party's majorities in Congress.
"It's outrageous that 50 years later, women must again fight for our most basic rights against an extremist court and Republican Party," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday in a press conference...
From the Right
House again passes sweeping abortion rights bill on track to fail in the Senate
The House on Friday again passed the Women’s Health Protection Act, a sweeping abortion rights bill that has already been passed by the chamber this Congress. It goes on to face dim prospects in the Senate.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi touted the House’s second passage of the same bill this Congress and argued the matter is an election issue to pass the bill in the Senate.
“We must ensure that the American people remember in November because with two more Democratic senators, we will be able to eliminate the filibuster when it comes to a...
From the Center
House passes bills to protect abortion access following Roe reversal
The House on Friday passed two bills aimed at protecting access to abortion, marking the chamber’s first legislative attempts at safeguarding the procedure after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month.
The first bill — the Women’s Health Protection Act — passed in a 219-210 vote, clearing the House for a second time in the past year. The lower chamber previously approved the measure in September, but it was twice blocked in the Senate.
Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar was the only Democrat to vote against the bill, which all Republicans present opposed as well. He also...
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