The two Senate Republicans who support abortion rights, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have raised objections to the Democrats’ bill that is the subject of Wednesday’s vote, and they are promoting alternative legislation.
Ms. Collins said she opposed the Democrats’ bill partly because it lacked an exception to give Catholic hospitals the right to refuse to perform abortions.
Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski introduced their own bill, which they describe as codifying Roe v. Wade, in February. Called the Reproductive Choice Act, it is only three pages long and was written without the consultation of reproductive rights groups, according to representatives from those organizations.
The legislation is simple: It would declare that states cannot impose an “undue burden” on the ability to choose whether to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability, borrowing key language from Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 decision that reaffirmed the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe two decades earlier.
Some Democrats have dismissed the bill as toothless, although on Wednesday, Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, said his talks with Ms. Collins about her alternative had been productive.
But reproductive rights advocates have said it leaves too much unsaid and lacks clear guidance about what states can and cannot do, putting vital decisions in the hands of courts that have become increasingly hostile to abortion rights. The measure does not explicitly rule out bans on abortion before a fetus is viable or bar any specific prohibitions on abortion methods.
Ms. Collins said she opposed the Democrats’ bill partly because it lacked an exception to give Catholic hospitals the right to refuse to perform abortions.
Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski introduced their own bill, which they describe as codifying Roe v. Wade, in February. Called the Reproductive Choice Act, it is only three pages long and was written without the consultation of reproductive rights groups, according to representatives from those organizations.
The legislation is simple: It would declare that states cannot impose an “undue burden” on the ability to choose whether to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability, borrowing key language from Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 decision that reaffirmed the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe two decades earlier.
Some Democrats have dismissed the bill as toothless, although on Wednesday, Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, said his talks with Ms. Collins about her alternative had been productive.
But reproductive rights advocates have said it leaves too much unsaid and lacks clear guidance about what states can and cannot do, putting vital decisions in the hands of courts that have become increasingly hostile to abortion rights. The measure does not explicitly rule out bans on abortion before a fetus is viable or bar any specific prohibitions on abortion methods.
How a Bill to Protect Abortion Access Failed in the Senate
After Republicans blocked the legislation intended to preserve rights established by Roe v. Wade, Democrats vowed to keep fighting, with an eye on midterm elections.
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