The US Senate on Wednesday (11) blocked a bill that would make abortion legal in the United States. The decision was already expected, since for the text to advance, the Democratic Party needed to reach at least 60 votes in favor of the legislation – the House is divided between 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans.
Today, the procedure is allowed in many states, according to the interpretation of Justice. At the beginning of the month, however, a leaked document from the Supreme Court pointed out that the court must reverse the decision, which would configure the end of the national guarantee of the right to abortion in the US – the decision will be up to the Legislature.
In the same vein, states ruled by Republicans have, in recent months, passed local laws that prevent the practice.
Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, dozens of Democrats, mostly women, marched toward the Senate, chanting “my body, my decision.” Upon arriving at Congress, they took shelter in silence at the back of the plenary where the senators were debating the proposal.
The pressure movement, however, was to no avail. No Republican senators voted in favor of the decision, and a Democratic lawmaker was against the party’s own proposal.
The dissent from West Virginia senator Joe Manchin came as no surprise: contrary to the right to termination of pregnancy, he said during discussions that the bill was broad and would “expand abortion” beyond what the decision provides. Roe v Wade, 1973 Supreme Court. In the end, the vote was 51 against the text and 49 in favor.
Before being rejected in the Senate, the text had been approved by the House in September of last year, by a narrow margin, from 218 to 211.
Analysts see, however, that the Democrats’ strategy would go beyond an eventual approval. According to them, the purpose of putting the agenda on the table is also to portray Republican senators as extremists and try to influence the November legislative elections – if the projections for the election are correct, Democrats should lose their majority in the House and Senate (the latter secured by the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris).
Polls have shown American public support for the right to abortion. According to a Pew Research Center survey in late 2021, 59% of Americans believe abortion should be legal, and 39% want to ban it. It is based on these numbers that the Democrats try to change the scenario of the upcoming elections.
