The Senate is expected to vote on legislation in an attempt to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law. The vote will take place on Wednesday and follows the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion that signified a ruling to overturn the historic Supreme Court case.
The draft majority opinion penned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito rejects the 1973 decision guaranteeing federal constitutional protections of abortion rights.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Alito wrote in the draft, according to Politico.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” he said in the document. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
Now, Democrats are working to codify Roe v. Wade by passing federal legislation on abortion rights, according to the Cut.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., spoke on the Senate floor on Monday after filing cloture on the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify abortion access into federal law.
“With all of America watching, Republicans will not be able to hide from their role in bringing Roe to an end,” the majority leader said in a statement shared with Blavity.
“The laws Republicans are passing across the country and the nationwide ban Republicans in Washington want are the most extreme of extreme, and the beginning of Republican attempts to use the Supreme Court to turn back the clock to a time when women, people of color and LGBTQ people are all considered second class citizens,” he continued. “Democrats are going to fight these attempts all the way, for as long as it takes.”
The codification will permit termination up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, CNBC reports. The bill would also protect abortion rights when the pregnancy poses a risk to a person’s health and would prevent limiting access to certain drugs.
According to U.S. News, the vote, however, is not expected to pass due to the Senate’s 50-50 split.
Senate Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski previously introduced their own legislation to codify Roe into law, adding an exemption to protect health care providers who opted not to perform the procedure.
