SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly press conference at the U.S. Capitol on August 25, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Slamming 'Cowardly' Supreme Court, Pelosi Announces Vote on Abortion Rights Bill
"This ban necessitates codifying Roe v. Wade," the House Speaker said.
Sep 02, 2021
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that the House will vote on a bill to guarantee abortion rights nationwide after the chamber returns from recess later this month, a legislative effort aimed at countering the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to greenlight Texas' unprecedented assault on reproductive freedoms.
"The Supreme Court's cowardly, dark-of-night decision to uphold a flagrantly unconstitutional assault on women's rights and health is staggering."
--House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
"Upon our return, the House will bring up Congresswoman Judy Chu's Women's Health Protection Act to enshrine into law reproductive healthcare for all women across America," Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement, slamming the new Texas law barring abortions after six weeks of pregnancy as a "catastrophe."
"The Supreme Court's cowardly, dark-of-night decision to uphold a flagrantly unconstitutional assault on women's rights and health is staggering," Pelosi added. "This ban necessitates codifying Roe v. Wade."
The House is scheduled to return to session on September 20.
Unveiled by Chu (D-Calif.) and several other congressional Democrats in May, the Women's Health Protection Act would establish a federal statutory right to abortion care "free from medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion and impede access."
"Our legislation reaffirms what the Supreme Court established fifty years ago: access to abortion is a fundamental right," Chu said upon introducing the measure.
The bill currently has 189 co-sponsors in the House and 48 in the Senate. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) are the lone Democratic holdouts in the upper chamber.
In a tweet Thursday, Chu applauded Pelosi for vowing to bring the Women's Health Protection Act to the House floor for a vote in the wake of the high court's refusal to block Texas' near-total abortion ban.
"Unlike the Supreme Court, we were elected," Chu wrote. "And we were elected on the promise we would protect the rights of women no matter where they live. This is how we do that!"
The real obstacle for the bill is the Senate, which Democrats control by the slimmest of margins. Even if Senate Democratic leaders are able to get all 50 members of their caucus on board, they will still need to win the support of at least 10 Republicans as long as the 60-vote legislative filibuster remains in place.
Numerous Democratic lawmakers and reproductive rights groups emphasized that reality following the Supreme Court's decision, which analysts said effectively overturns Roe v. Wade and opens the door for other Republican-led states to replicate Texas' abortion ban.
"The choice before us today is do we keep the filibuster or do we protect abortion rights?" Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) tweeted Thursday. "Do we allow the stolen Republican SCOTUS majority to remain forever or do we protect abortion rights? Do we allow the far-right to have the last word on Roe v. Wade or do we fight back?"
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that the House will vote on a bill to guarantee abortion rights nationwide after the chamber returns from recess later this month, a legislative effort aimed at countering the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to greenlight Texas' unprecedented assault on reproductive freedoms.
"The Supreme Court's cowardly, dark-of-night decision to uphold a flagrantly unconstitutional assault on women's rights and health is staggering."
--House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
"Upon our return, the House will bring up Congresswoman Judy Chu's Women's Health Protection Act to enshrine into law reproductive healthcare for all women across America," Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement, slamming the new Texas law barring abortions after six weeks of pregnancy as a "catastrophe."
"The Supreme Court's cowardly, dark-of-night decision to uphold a flagrantly unconstitutional assault on women's rights and health is staggering," Pelosi added. "This ban necessitates codifying Roe v. Wade."
The House is scheduled to return to session on September 20.
Unveiled by Chu (D-Calif.) and several other congressional Democrats in May, the Women's Health Protection Act would establish a federal statutory right to abortion care "free from medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion and impede access."
"Our legislation reaffirms what the Supreme Court established fifty years ago: access to abortion is a fundamental right," Chu said upon introducing the measure.
The bill currently has 189 co-sponsors in the House and 48 in the Senate. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) are the lone Democratic holdouts in the upper chamber.
In a tweet Thursday, Chu applauded Pelosi for vowing to bring the Women's Health Protection Act to the House floor for a vote in the wake of the high court's refusal to block Texas' near-total abortion ban.
"Unlike the Supreme Court, we were elected," Chu wrote. "And we were elected on the promise we would protect the rights of women no matter where they live. This is how we do that!"
The real obstacle for the bill is the Senate, which Democrats control by the slimmest of margins. Even if Senate Democratic leaders are able to get all 50 members of their caucus on board, they will still need to win the support of at least 10 Republicans as long as the 60-vote legislative filibuster remains in place.
Numerous Democratic lawmakers and reproductive rights groups emphasized that reality following the Supreme Court's decision, which analysts said effectively overturns Roe v. Wade and opens the door for other Republican-led states to replicate Texas' abortion ban.
"The choice before us today is do we keep the filibuster or do we protect abortion rights?" Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) tweeted Thursday. "Do we allow the stolen Republican SCOTUS majority to remain forever or do we protect abortion rights? Do we allow the far-right to have the last word on Roe v. Wade or do we fight back?"
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that the House will vote on a bill to guarantee abortion rights nationwide after the chamber returns from recess later this month, a legislative effort aimed at countering the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to greenlight Texas' unprecedented assault on reproductive freedoms.
"The Supreme Court's cowardly, dark-of-night decision to uphold a flagrantly unconstitutional assault on women's rights and health is staggering."
--House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
"Upon our return, the House will bring up Congresswoman Judy Chu's Women's Health Protection Act to enshrine into law reproductive healthcare for all women across America," Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement, slamming the new Texas law barring abortions after six weeks of pregnancy as a "catastrophe."
"The Supreme Court's cowardly, dark-of-night decision to uphold a flagrantly unconstitutional assault on women's rights and health is staggering," Pelosi added. "This ban necessitates codifying Roe v. Wade."
The House is scheduled to return to session on September 20.
Unveiled by Chu (D-Calif.) and several other congressional Democrats in May, the Women's Health Protection Act would establish a federal statutory right to abortion care "free from medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion and impede access."
"Our legislation reaffirms what the Supreme Court established fifty years ago: access to abortion is a fundamental right," Chu said upon introducing the measure.
The bill currently has 189 co-sponsors in the House and 48 in the Senate. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) are the lone Democratic holdouts in the upper chamber.
In a tweet Thursday, Chu applauded Pelosi for vowing to bring the Women's Health Protection Act to the House floor for a vote in the wake of the high court's refusal to block Texas' near-total abortion ban.
"Unlike the Supreme Court, we were elected," Chu wrote. "And we were elected on the promise we would protect the rights of women no matter where they live. This is how we do that!"
The real obstacle for the bill is the Senate, which Democrats control by the slimmest of margins. Even if Senate Democratic leaders are able to get all 50 members of their caucus on board, they will still need to win the support of at least 10 Republicans as long as the 60-vote legislative filibuster remains in place.
Numerous Democratic lawmakers and reproductive rights groups emphasized that reality following the Supreme Court's decision, which analysts said effectively overturns Roe v. Wade and opens the door for other Republican-led states to replicate Texas' abortion ban.
"The choice before us today is do we keep the filibuster or do we protect abortion rights?" Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) tweeted Thursday. "Do we allow the stolen Republican SCOTUS majority to remain forever or do we protect abortion rights? Do we allow the far-right to have the last word on Roe v. Wade or do we fight back?"
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.