Two longstanding abortion-related measures fail in the US Senate
Savannah BehrmannWASHINGTON – Two longstanding abortion measures failed to advance on the Senate floor Tuesday after being introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Although he has been previously against "show votes" on measures that have little chance of passing, McConnell made his colleagues vote on the bills related to abortion, a divisive issue that Republicans are focusing on ahead of the 2020 elections.
Neither measure was expected to get the 60 votes needed to advance past the initial procedural hurdle.
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"Today, every senator will be able to take a clear moral stand," McConnell said Tuesday morning on the Senate floor. "We’ll have the chance to proceed to common sense legislation that would move our nation closer to the international mainstream with respect to defending innocent human life."
The first bill, the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," would ban abortion at 20 weeks, which is based on a scientifically disputed claim that a fetus can feel pain at that point.
The bill was sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and takes aim at the 24-week threshold established by the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion nationwide.
That bill failed 53-44. Democratic Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Joe Manchin of West Virginia backed the measure, while Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska opposed it.
The second bill, sponsored by Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, would require abortion providers to try to "preserve the life and health" of any infant born after a failed abortion, or face up to five years in prison.
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The bill garnered the support of three Democrats: Alabama Democrat Sen. Doug Jones joined Manchin and Casey. The final tally for the measure was 56-41.
After that bill failed to move forward after a 53-44 vote last year in the Senate, President Donald Trump falsely conflated the measure with infanticide, which is already illegal under federal law, and tweeted that Democrats "don't mind executing babies AFTER birth."
Critics of Sasse's bill, versions of which have been introduced in several states, have argued it is unnecessary and that medical ethics require any health professional to take appropriate steps to save the life of any infant in such circumstances.
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Some Senators criticized McConnell's decision to allow a vote on the measures while blocking votes on hundreds of other bills related to issues like gun control and election security. McConnell nicknamed himself the "Grim Reaper" because he has turned the Senate into a "graveyard" for hundreds of proposals passed by the House.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused McConnell of wasting the chamber's time on "legislation that is purely an attack on women's health care."
The abortion-related measures put vulnerable Senators on both sides of the aisle in difficult situations — and they were meant to, especially for moderate Democrats like Jones.
McConnell is hoping to energize social conservatives ahead of the elections as he seeks to keep his majority in the Senate.
"If my Democratic colleagues block the Senate from even proceeding to debate this legislation later today, the message they send will be chilling and clear: The radical demands of the far-left will drown out common sense and the views of most Americans," McConnell said.
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The Trump administration has been vocal about being pro-life. His re-election campaign announced creation of a "Pro-Life Voices for Trump" coalition just hours before he became the first sitting president to appear in person "March for Life" rally in its 47-year history in January. The administration also often touts their nominations of conservative judges and allowing "states to defund Planned Parenthood."
Vice President Mike Pence tweeted Tuesday that "Republicans continue to support important pro-life policies, Democrats are bowing to the most radical elements of their party & refusing to protect babies still in their mother’s womb."
Contributing: Billy Kobin, Courier Journal