House Passes Abortion-Rights Bills To Codify ‘Roe V. Wade’

The House of Representatives passed two measures that, if passed, would codify abortion rights following last month’s Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, returning rights to the states to decide on abortion laws.

“It’s outrageous that 50 years later, women must again fight for our most basic rights against an extremist court and Republican Party,” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) told reporters ahead of the vote.

“Democrats are honoring the basic truth: women’s most intimate health decisions are her own,” she added.

The first bill titled the Women’s Health Protection Act, passed in a 219-210 vote and is aimed at protecting the right to abortions while also outlawing states from enacting restrictions. The bill will now be sent to the Senate, which has already blocked it once.

The second bill, called the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, protects those traveling across state lines to have the procedure, making sure that they cannot legally be restricted or face consequences. This bill passed 223-205, but it is likely to meet opposition in the Senate as Senate GOP members blocked a similar provision on Thursday.

It is unlikely that either bill will pass through the evenly split Senate. The Democrats would need 10 votes of Republican support to reach the 60-vote threshold required.

President Joe Biden has continued to call on Americans to continue protesting and turn out to the ballots to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.