Schumer prepares for a vote on protecting abortion rights nationally

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday announced that he is setting up for a vote on federally protecting a woman's right to have an abortion.

The proposed legislation would enshrine a woman's national right to have an abortion if it's done before the third trimester of the pregnancy. The procedural step is the Senate's third action related to reproductive health care this month, after Senate Republicans blocked the "Right to Contraception Act" and the "Right to [In Vitro Fertilization] Act." 

The vote is expected to take place next month, because the Senate will go on a two-week recess next week, and will remain out for the first week of July. 

“A few moments ago I took the first procedural step to place on the legislative calendar the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act, cosponsored by Sen. Murray and myself and cosponsored by all the women senators on the Democratic side,” Schumer said on the Senate floor, per The Hill. “This calls for enshrining the protections of Roe v. Wade into law."

Schumer previously slammed Senate Republicans for blocking the previous bills on protecting a woman's right to IVF, and to contraceptives like birth control pills. Republicans have countered the comments, claiming they are in favor of protecting both rights, but that the previous bills were too broad, and contained "poison pills" they could not support.

“In the last two weeks, Senate Republicans have shown for all their attempts to sound moderate on reproductive freedom, when it comes to [a] vote, they’re falling in line with MAGA extremists,” Schumer said. “This month, Senate Republicans have already blocked legislation protecting commonsense reproductive care like contraception and IVF.”

Abortion has proved to be an important topic for voters in the 2022 midterm elections, partially blocking a predicted "red wave," and is expected to play a prominent role in 2024. Conversation on the topic comes after the Supreme Court overturned the historic ruling in Roe v. Wade, by returning the matter of abortion back to individual states.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.