WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of senators is pushing for compromise legislation to restore access to abortion after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a long-running effort to put the Senate majority on the record opposing the decision.
While the bill is not expected to pass — and is unlikely to even receive a vote — the legislation, introduced by two Republicans and two Democrats on Monday, is intended to send a signal to state legislatures and the public that the Senate majority supports codification of Roe , even if they can’t muster the necessary 60 votes to pass it in the 50-50 Senate.
“We still think there’s value in showing that there’s a bipartisan majority that would like to codify Roe,” even though the bill doesn’t have enough votes, said Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who introduced the legislation with Democratic Sen. . Kirsten Sinema of Arizona and Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
The legislation would ban most state regulations that prevent access to abortion before fetal viability, which is generally considered to be about 24 weeks. It would allow state restrictions after that point, as long as the mother’s life is protected. It would also protect access to contraception, an issue after Justice Clarence Thomas suggested in a concurring opinion in the ruling overturning Roe that rulings guaranteeing access to contraception and other rights may need to be revisited.
The bipartisan bill is narrower than legislation favored by most Democrats — passed by the House but blocked by Senate Republicans — that would have protected abortion rights and expanded them beyond what was allowed in the landmark 1972 Roe v. Wade decision. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Collins and Murkowski voted against the bill despite opposition to overturning Roe.
Kaine said he felt like Democrats “left votes on the table” after the effort. He said he was encouraged by new legislation designed to reduce gun violence that was passed by the House and Senate after the horrific shootings in Texas and New York.
“There weren’t even 60 votes” on that legislation until members decided inaction was no longer an option, he said.
Democrats would need 10 Republican votes to overcome a filibuster and get a bill through a 50-50 Senate vote, but only Collins and Murkowski have publicly supported abortion rights.
By overturning Roe, the court allowed states to enact strict restrictions on abortion, including many that had previously been deemed unconstitutional. The decision is expected to result in abortion bans in roughly half of the states.
Already, a number of GOP-controlled states have moved quickly to restrict or ban abortions, while Democratic-controlled states have sought to support access. Voters now rank abortion as one of the most pressing issues facing the country, a shift in priorities that Democrats hope will shift the political landscape in their favor for the midterm elections.
The support of Kaine and Sinema, a moderate, comes after some activists accused President Joe Biden and other top Democrats of not responding strongly enough to the decision.
Kaine said there was a heightened sense of urgency after the June decision and suggested he or others could go to the floor at some point and demand a vote, an effort unlikely to succeed but could draw attention to the bill as a majority of Americans say they disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision.
“People are paying attention to it,” Kane said.
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