The Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 is an updated version of a bill the House passed in September to codify the right to an abortion.
The 2021 version of the Women’s Health Protection Act was defeated in a procedural vote in the Senate, 51 nays to 49 yeas, with Senator Joe Manchin voting with Republicans against the measure.
House expected to pass a bill to restore abortion rights.
The House this week is expected to pass a bill that would restore the right to an abortion previously protected by Roe, although the bill is bound to die in the Senate.
The House is also expected to take up and pass legislation this week that prohibits states from interfering with a woman’s right to travel to obtain an abortion. This, too, is also likely to fail in the Senate.
On Friday, President Biden signed an executive order aimed at protecting women who cross state lines to seek abortions, among other things. But he also made it clear there’s only so much the executive branch can do without congressional action. He has been urging voters to put Democrats who support abortion access in the office.
The president has said he’d support eliminating the filibuster to enact an abortion access law, but because Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema oppose this, Democrats are currently short two votes.
