House Democrats return to Capitol Hill, post Roe, with plan to vote on pro-abortion measures

House will attempt to again pass a measure to turn abortion rights into the law, but it's not expected to pass in Senate, as before

By Mark Choy

Published: July 11, 2022 1:10pm

Updated: July 11, 2022 5:26pm

Members of the Democrat-controlled House are on Capitol Hill this week for the first time since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade hoping pass two pro-abortion bills.

One bill attempts to protect women traveling from states in which abortion is no longer legal to states in which the procedure remains legal.

The high court on June 24 reversed its decision in the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade, which for decades provided a constitutional right to abortion.

Many anti-abortion groups and some Republican governors have already expressed interest in making it illegal to travel out of state for an abortion.

The second bill, if passed, would update the Women’s Health Protection Act to put abortion rights into law. The measure passed last fall in the chamber with all but one Democrat voting in favor.

However, its passage in the Senate will more difficult because Democrats will need 60 votes to get past the procedural hurdle known as a filibuster while having only 50 lawmakers in the 100-member chamber.

President Biden last week signed an executive order that attempts to protect abortion rights.

Said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "We have a sacred, fundamental duty to expand freedom in America, not to roll back fundamental rights," . "While Republicans seek to criminalize reproductive health care nationwide, House Democrats will never relent in our fight to defend freedom for women and for every American."