The US Senate failed to pass a procedural measure that would have paved the way for abortion rights to be protected on the federal level even after an anticipated US Supreme Court on the issue.
The Senate measure needed sixty votes to bring the measure to the floor for passage. But all Republicans voted against it. All Democrats but one, Senator Joe Manchin voted for it.
The entire democratic congressional delegation in New England voted for the measure. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the Rhode Island Democrat among them.
“Today, I cast my vote to protect access to abortion?nationwide, and to stand up to a Supreme Court intent on tearing down a constitutional right of every woman in this country. We must fight back against this assault on women’s right to choose if and when to have a child. We must also shine a light on the right-wing special interests that packed the Supreme Court with the current Republican majority – a majority that is enacting an extreme agenda at the expense of the Constitution and the American people.
“The Republican Party used to defend individual liberty and the right to privacy. This vote shows those days are over. That is a shame.”
It is unclear whether the Senate will continue to push the measure in the near future.
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