Senate Republicans have blocked Democrats from advancing a resolution to ensure access to emergency medical care, including abortion, and Democrats plan to continue to put reproductive rights at the center of their message ahead of November.
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) tried to pass the resolution, which was introduced last week, unanimously, arguing that it was necessary after ProPublica reported A delay in emergency abortion led to the death of Amber Nicole Thurman in 2022.
“We need to send a very clear message on this,” Murray said. “The Senate needs to speak with one voice and say to the American people, ‘Yes, we want to make sure your doctor can save your life.'”
Senator James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) opposed the motion, arguing that the Democrats’ claim was misleading and that doctors across the country were capable of providing emergency care regardless of the situation, despite the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“Every doctor before the Dobbs decision, when there were restrictions on abortion nationwide, and after the Dobbs decision, when every single state made those decisions, it allowed doctors in an emergency room to make life-saving decisions for the mother and the baby. Every doctor is already able to make that decision to protect the life of the mother,” he said.
“They have the protections to be able to do that,” Lankford continued. “So it’s a false claim that what happened in the Dobbs decision and what’s happening in the states somehow limits that. It’s actually the political rhetoric that’s making people afraid.”
A few minutes later, Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) attempted to pass a bill of her own that would cover the cost of abortion for women seeking an abortion, but her motion for unanimous consent was blocked by Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama).
These measures represent the latest attempt by Senate Democrats to bring reproductive rights to the forefront in recent months.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) last week called for a vote to solidify access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and require health insurance to cover it. Republicans blocked the vote, saying it was a “sham vote” and politically motivated. The vote came after former President Trump called for IVF treatments to be covered by the government or health insurance through a mandate.
In the summer, he also held votes on abortion care and contraception, and there was previously a vote on access to IVF.
Schumer held the votes on Tuesday. The interim government spending package is expected to be presented sometime on Wednesday, delaying the votes until the end of the week.
