U.S. House passes abortion rights bill, outlook poor in Senate

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives passed bill on Friday to protect abortion services from growing Republican-backed state restrictions, including a Texas bill banning near-total abortion, but the bill will likely not passed the Senate.

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted 218-211 largely in line with party lines to pass the law called the Women’s Health Protection Act. Only one Democrat, Representative Henry Cuellar from Texas, voted against the proposal.

The bill would protect abortion services and anticipate many of the state-level restrictions that Republicans have put in place, such as those that require ultrasound or other testing.

The Senate will vote on the bill “in the near future,” Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

It isn’t expected to happen through the evenly divided Senate, where it will take Democrats at least 10 Republicans to back it up. Republican Senator Susan Collins, a moderate advocate of abortion law, has spoken out against it. She said the House of Representatives bill would weaken the exemptions for health care providers who refuse to perform abortions on moral or religious grounds.

But the House vote gives Democrats a chance to show their support for the right to abortion ahead of the 2022 congressional elections that will determine which party controls Congress during the second half of President Joe Biden’s tenure.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) hears during a press conference on the House of Representatives vote on HR 3755, the “Women’s Health Protection Act” to “introduce a federally protected right of access to abortion” in the Washington Capitol , USA, September 24, 2021. REUTERS / Kevin Lamarque

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“It is time to trust women and respect their decisions,” said Democratic MP Rosa DeLauro during the debate in the House of Representatives.

The legislation follows the enactment of a Texas law that effectively prohibits abortion after six weeks of gestation, before many women realize they are pregnant. Abortion providers expect other Republican-led states to adopt similar measures if courts allow Texas law to stay in place.

The US Supreme Court, which is heavily conservative, is also considering restrictive Mississippi law, adding to Democrats’ fears that the High Court Roe v. Wade, could overturn the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

Most Republican MPs oppose abortion, and party activists have long urged the Supreme Court to overthrow Roe against Wade.

“Our nation should invest in women’s health and unborn baby health,” Republican MP Gus Bilirakis said during the floor debate. “This bill does the opposite.”

On Thursday, abortion providers in Texas asked the US Supreme Court to hear their challenge to state law that allows individuals to sue anyone who helps with an abortion after the six-week deadline. The Supreme Court, which has a Conservative majority of 6-3, refused to block the law earlier this month.

A Reuters / Ipsos poll in mid-June found that 52% of adults said abortion should be legal in “most” or “all” cases, while 36% said it should be illegal.

Additional coverage from Susan Cornwell; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Aurora Ellis and David Gregorio

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