WASHINGTON – The US House of Representatives on Friday adopted two bills aimed at protecting access to abortion after the Supreme Court ruled that individual states could ban or impose restrictions on the procedure.
However, legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled House is unlikely to advance to the Senate, where 10 Republican votes would be needed to bring the measures to the floor.
“Only three weeks ago, the Supreme Court took a disastrous ball for fundamental rights by overturning Roe v. Wade,” Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, referring to the landmark case that ensured legal access to abortion.
“That’s why today, our choice, a pro-female Democratic majority is strong,” Pelosi said. “We will take further action to protect women’s reproductive freedom.”
The first bill, the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” adopted only with Democratic support, would legalize abortion throughout the United States.
The House passed a similar bill last year but it failed in the Senate.
The second bill, adopted on Friday, will provide legal protection to women who seek abortions from one state to another.
A number of conservative states have already banned abortions since the Supreme Court decision, and nearly half of the 50 US states are expected to impose a near or total ban in the coming weeks or months.
Democratic President Joe Biden condemned last month’s abortion ruling by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court and urged Americans to vote in large numbers to vote in November’s midterm elections.
The party in power performs poorly in the midterm, however, and Democrats risk losing their majority in the House and their thin grip on the Senate.
