Manchin joins Republicans to kill Senate abortion bill
The Senate voted 51–49 on Wednesday against a bill that would have enshrined abortion access in federal law in response to the Supreme Court's leaked draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
The Women's Health Protection Act, which required 60 votes to pass, was doomed from the start. All 50 Senate Republicans voted against the bill, as did Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
"They're trying to make people believe that this is the same thing as codifying Roe v. Wade. And I want you to know, it's not. This is not the same. It expands abortion," Manchin said before the vote.
Pro-choice Republican Susan Collins (Maine) concurred. In February, she said the WHPA "goes far beyond what is necessary to codify the abortion rights in Roe and Casey" and introduced the narrower Reproductive Choice Act as an alternative. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who co-sponsored the RCA, also voted against the WHPA on Wednesday.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.), who has described himself as pro-life, voted for the bill, citing "serious concerns about what overturning almost 50 years of legal precedent will mean for women in states passing near or total bans on abortion."