Harris backs ending filibuster to reinstate nationwide abortion rights

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday expressed support for eliminating the Senate's 60-vote filibuster threshold so as to advance legislation restoring abortion access nationwide.

“I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe, and get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom,” she said on Wisconsin Public Radio.

The Senate currently requires 60-votes to clear the procedural threshold for legislation to advance. After the Dobbs v. Jackson decision in 2022 eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion, some Democrats called for abolishing the filibuster to let the Democratic-led Senate pass a bill to reinstate abortion access for all states.

Moderate Democrats, however, such as Sens. Krysten Sinema, Ariz., and Joe Manchin, W. Va., opposed such a move and the upper chamber did not move forward. Both Sinema and Manchin have since left the party and are not seeking reelection.