House passes bill to protect abortion rights in response to restrictive Texas law – CNBC

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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington and chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus, said from the House floor that she has had an abortion and urged fellow lawmakers not to criminalize the procedure.

“One in four women across America have had an abortion. I am one of them,” she said prior to the bill’s passage. “Terminating my pregnancy, Madam Speaker, was not an easy choice for me. But it was my choice. It is time to preserve that for all people.”

The act would establish a statutory right for health-care providers to provide, and patients to receive, abortion care without certain limitations or requirements.

Specifically, the bill would give patients the right to an abortion without medically unnecessary tests or procedures — generally understood to include ultrasounds, counseling or mandatory waiting periods. It also would bar states from imposing in-person clinic visits prior to obtaining an abortion, often referred to as “two-trip” requirements.

The bill would bar states from prohibiting any abortion prior to fetal viability. It also would bar the prohibition of an abortion after fetal viability if, in the health-care provider’s good-faith judgment, continuing the pregnancy would pose a risk to the pregnant patient’s life or health.

Despite its long odds in the Senate, the House-approved bill may provide Democrats with fuel in the 2022 midterms and a strong talking point for voters who view the Supreme Court’s recent decision as eroding rights many believed to be settled law.

Republicans, including Rep. Julia Letlow of Louisiana, protested the bill ahead of the House vote and argued that it goes beyond the Roe decision.

Specifically, members of the GOP say the bill strips states of their ability to regulate abortion. They also argue that the measure would prevent states from introducing measures to make abortions safer and lead to many more procedures in the late stages of pregnancy.

“As a woman, and most importantly, a mother of two children, I feel uniquely qualified to speak about this,” Letlow said from the House floor.

“The legislation before us is perhaps the most extreme abortion measure that Congress has ever considered,” she added. “It will overturn countless protections for the unborn that states have already put into place.”

The Senate, narrowly controlled by Democrats, may not take up the bill since it remains unclear whether a majority of the chamber supports it.

Two Democrats, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, have not joined the rest of their colleagues in cosponsoring the Senate’s version of the bill and are expected to oppose it. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who has supported abortion rights in the past, has reportedly said she will not support the bill in its current form.

Even if Democrats managed to scrape together a majority of the Senate, it is nearly certain that Republicans would filibuster the bill and prevent it from advancing with less than 60 votes.

A group of abortion providers and advocates asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to quickly review their challenge to the Texas law.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/24/house-passes-abortion-rights-bill-in-response-to-restrictive-texas-law.html

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