As expected, the opposition of the Republican opposition proved very strong. In addition to all 50 Republican senators, the more conservative Democratic senator also voted against.
With the bill, Democrats wanted to entrench the right to abortion. They fear a US Supreme Court ruling in the coming weeks.
A leaked draft ruling has revealed that a majority of conservative justices want to end the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling, which enshrined the right to abortion. If this also becomes the court’s final decision, it will now be up to the US states themselves to decide whether abortion is permitted. Republican states are already in the process of banning or severely restricting this right.
legal
The majority of Americans believe that abortion should remain legal in all or most circumstances. Democrats hope a losing Senate vote will rally abortion rights advocates in the run-up to the November parliamentary elections.
In his first response, President Biden condemned the Republican blockade “at a time when women’s constitutional rights are under unprecedented attack, and contrary to the will of the majority of the American people.” He hopes there will be a majority in the Senate after the election, so that the bill remains passable.