Thanks to one of the most recent Supreme Court rulings, you know, the one that everyone is talking about (the one that ended the federal legality of abortion in the US), the Democrats are desperately trying to hold onto what little control they have left. Naturally, this led them to begin scheming all sorts of ideas about how to keep abortion a nationwide “healthcare benefit,” as they would call it.
In reality, the process to keep abortion in play no matter what the Supreme Court ruled has been ongoing for a while now, basically, since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case first became a national and, therefore, a SCOTUS issue.
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed legislation in September, known as the Women’s Health Protection Act, that would do just that. Unfortunately for them, though, the bill did not make it through the US Senate when it was put to a vote in May, according to NPR.
Now, at the time, it was unsure that such a bill was actually needed, hence why you likely didn’t hear too much about it. After all, at that point, there was still a chance of the Supreme Court making an altogether different ruling.
However, now that the decision has been made and states everywhere are coming up with their own rules and laws on how abortion will be handled, the Democrats are getting desperate.
In particular, Democratic President Joe Biden has even insisted that the filibuster be revoked and nixed so that abortion and several other related matters can be pushed through as he wishes.
During a news conference on Thursday, he told reporters that the solution to this abortion issue for him is to get Congress to “codify Roe v. Wade in the law. And the way to do that is to ensure that Congress votes to do that.”
He added that “if the filibuster gets in the way… require an exception to the filibuster for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision.”
There’s just one problem. Well, two. Their names are Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Both are Democratic lawmakers, but just as they did last year when a “voting rights” legislation was trying to be pushed through, the two are refusing to bow to party agenda ideas or lines. And in a Senate that is tied 50 to 50, that means the Democrats are getting nowhere with this bill or the statement of throwing away the filibuster.
Instead, the two lawmakers are sticking to their guns and holding on to the fact that the filibuster is a useful tactic, even if their party sees it as a hindrance at this very moment.
As CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju reported, “Sinema stands by her opposition to gutting the 60-vote threshold despite Biden’s call for a carveout on abortion rights.”
And Manchin’s office told reporters a similar statement.
While both Manchin and Sinema have admitted that they would codify Roe, making it an official law, neither is willing to vote for the Women’s Health Protection Act or the nullification of the filibuster.
Two typically moderate Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska say the same.
Among other things, the Women’s Health Protection Act would eliminate stuff like antiabortion counseling, mandatory waiting periods, certain structure and staffing policies at abortion clinics, telemedicine bans, and even laws requiring parents to be notified of their daughters getting an abortion.
No wonder Manchin and Sinema won’t vote for it.
These are the things that currently, or up until last week in some states, made abortions safe and acceptable for all kinds of women and their needs. And yet, not only do the Democrats want to ensure that abortions are legal in any state and at any time during pregnancy, but they also want to deny people the right to counseling, safety procedures, and other “medically unnecessary” restrictions, as the far left call them.
Sinema also made it clear that just because her party wanted this to be pushed through was not reason enough for them to do away with an age-old rule like the filibuster that ensures democracy and not tyranny. And as Manchin explained, “what goes around comes around…”
And with a midterm cycle that is likely to bring devastation to the Democratic Party, you’d think more of them would be hesitant to pull this plug.
