"Women's Health Protection Act" Fails in US Senate Again

On May 11, a cloture vote on the "Women's Health Protection Act" (WHPA) once again failed in the US Senate. That legislation, which had already failed to bypass the filibuster once before, would create a federal right to abortion and undermine state abortion regulations. Among many other things, this bill would prevent states from restricting government funding of abortion.

Senate Republicans were joined by Democrat Senator Joe Manchin (WV) in a 49-51 vote. To bypass Senate filibuster rules, pro-abortion senators would have needed 60 votes. They failed, however, to even reach 50.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) filed another cloture vote shortly after a bad actor leaked a draft Supreme Court opinion by Justice Samuel Alito. That opinion called for the abortion precedent set by Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey to be overturned.

Pundits largely expected the vote to fail. It primarily serves as a tactic by pro-abortion politicians to try and gain support for the upcoming 2022 midterm elections. If pro-abortion politicians win a majority in the US Senate after the midterm elections, some pundits suggest that they would modify filibuster rules to pass the WHPA.

Pro-life laws that would be prohibited under the WHPA include

• informed consent
• waiting periods
• conscience rights for doctors
• limiting those who can perform abortions to licensed physicians
• limits based on gestational age
• sex-selective discriminatory abortion bans

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