Senate Vote on Codifying Roe v. Wade Results
The Senate Is Voting to Codify Roe v. Wade Today — Here's What to Know
The answer to the question of "What does the future of Roe v. Wade look like?" is, unfortunately, still not great. Despite the fact that Roe v. Wade is expected to be overturned later this year, the Senate is voting today to progress a bill that would ensure abortion access is protected under federal law.
It's called The Women's Health Protection Act, and it will not only prohibit governmental restrictions on access to abortion services at the state level, but it will also codify Roe v. Wade (which is really just a fancy word for saying it will keep it intact).
While it sounds like good news in theory, here's the issue: In order for the bill to pass, Congress would need 60 votes that, frankly, they don't have. Democrats make up 50 seats in the senate, but because of the filibuster rule stating that 60 votes are needed to end debate on a piece of legislation and move to a vote, the likelihood of the Women's Health Protection Act passing is not looking great.
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who is a democrat, has already said he will vote "no" in the chamber, and Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who have both previously claimed to be in support of abortion rights, have also said they will vote no, as well.
If you're wondering why this vote is still proceeding despite the outcome not looking great, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to make it very clear to the general public who is voting for and against abortion access.
On Monday, Shumer said: "There'll be no more hiding. There'll be no more distracting. No more obfuscating where every member in this chamber stands. Senate Republicans will face a choice. Either vote to protect the rights of women to exercise freedom over their own bodies, or stand with the Supreme Court as 50 years of women's rights are reduced to rubble before our very eyes."
"All of us will have to answer for this vote for the rest of our time in public office," Schumer said earlier this morning. "Before the day is over, every member of this body will make a choice to stand with women to protect their freedoms or stand with MAGA Republicans to take our country into a dark and repressive future."
The vote started around 3 p.m. EST today. If you're interested in tuning in, you can watch it here. In the meantime, if you don't agree with how your state senator votes, now would be a great time to make sure you're registered to vote in the upcoming midterms so you can elect a candidate who better aligns with your stance on abortion.
