Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) took steps Monday to begin a vote on the Women’s Reproductive Freedom Act, which would restore the national right to abortion before the third trimester of pregnancy, enshrining the protections of Roe v. Wade.
The plenary action marks the third vote this month on protecting women’s access to reproductive health care, following votes on the Right to Contraception Law and the Right to In Vitro Fertilization Law. Republicans blocked both measures.
“Just moments ago I took the first procedural step to place on the legislative calendar the Women’s Reproductive Freedom Act, co-sponsored by Senator Murray and myself and co-sponsored by all senators on the Democratic side,” Schumer announced on the Senate floor. floor.
“This requires enshrining the protections of Roe v. Wade. wade in the law,” he said.
The vote is expected to take place next month, as the Senate will be out of town for a two-week recess during the last week of June and the first week of July. Senators will be out of session on Wednesday in celebration of June 16th and are not expected to return to work on Thursday.
Schumer criticized Republicans for blocking two bills earlier this month to protect access to contraception and in vitro fertilization treatments.
“Over the past two weeks, Senate Republicans have demonstrated, for all their attempts to appear moderate on reproductive freedom, when it comes to voting, they are aligning themselves with MAGA extremists,” he said. “This month, Senate Republicans have already blocked legislation that protects commonsense reproductive care like contraception and in vitro fertilization.”
Republicans argued that the two bills introduced by Democrats related to contraception and in vitro fertilization were written too broadly and included provisions about “poison pills” that they could not accept.
GOP senators say they support Americans’ access to contraception and in vitro fertilization and accuse Democrats of stoking public fear about nonexistent threats to people’s access to health care.
But Schumer, speaking on the Senate floor Monday, pointed to a provision included in the House’s annual defense authorization bill and former President Trump’s comments to Republican lawmakers last week to argue that the threat to women’s reproductive rights women is very real.
“House Republicans voted overwhelmingly on Friday to pass the far-right poison pill defense funding bill that restricts access to reproductive care for our military,” he said. “And Donald Trump, speaking to Republicans on Capitol Hill last week, attacked the Roe decision and said abortion should be left to the states, even as states pass terrible restrictions on women’s freedoms.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
