House Plans to Vote on Legislation to Uphold Abortion Rights

The House of Representatives will vote tomorrow on a measure to uphold abortion rights. Although the bill has little chance of passing through the Senate and becoming law, it reflects the consensus among Democrats and could resonate through next year’s midterm elections.

The announcement comes amid controversy surrounding a Texas law that bans virtually all abortions.

“It became very evident that we needed to have something that would push back against all these state restrictions,” Representative Judy Chu (D-Calif.), the measure’s lead author, told The New York Times.

“We could see that change was possible at the Supreme Court, and we knew we had to make sure that Roe v. Wade was protected,” she added, referring to the landmark Supreme Court decision that protects a pregnant woman’s right to choose reproductive healthcare without excessive government restriction.

The Texas law that went into effect after the Supreme Court voted 5-4 not to block its implementation, saying abortion providers had not met the burden required for a stay of the law.

It prohibits virtually all abortions after a heartbeat is detected, which is typically after six weeks of pregnancy and empowers citizens to file lawsuits against abortion providers suspected of violating the new policy.

The law, referred to as a “fetal heartbeat bill,” would also allow citizens to file lawsuits against abortion providers suspected of violating the new policy.