Symbolic vote in US Senate on abortion

Symbolic vote in US Senate on abortion

The US Senate was preparing to vote Wednesday on legislation to guarantee access to abortion across the country, an initiative doomed to failure but which is part of a broader fight to protect the right, which Strongly at risk. court.

“Today’s vote is one of the most important in the coming decades,” said Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer in the chamber.

“Because for the first time in 50 years, a conservative majority, an overwhelming majority of the Supreme Court, is about to decide that women do not have control over their bodies”, he warned, in a serious tone.

At 3:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. GMT), 100 senators to the US Congress must decide whether they guarantee abortion rights across the United States.

Barring one big surprise, this vote would fail, given that most Democrats in the Senate are too narrow to allow such a text to be adopted – they would need an increase of 60 votes out of 100.

– ” on demand ” –

However, Republicans oppose the initiative overall, accusing Democrats of offering “abortion on demand” with the text, through the voice of their leader Mitch McConnell.

Joe Biden’s party was eager to organize this vote after the extraordinary leak on May 2 of a Supreme Court draft according to which the Temple of US law was preparing to revoke access to abortion.

If the Supreme Court reverses the case law that has established abortion rights in the United States since 1973, as a draft ruling suggested this week, each state would be free to prohibit or allow abortions. . Twenty conservative states have already promised to make it illegal.

Since the revelation of this draft ruling, groups – more or less densely – have come every evening to shout their anger in front of the Supreme Court, a grand white marble building now protected by a fence.

The only other option currently available to abortion rights advocates would be to change Senate rules to reduce the number of votes needed to pass such a law.

“Our allies in the Senate have the power to cause extreme suffering with a simple gesture,” said Corey Bush, an elected House Democrat who spoke publicly about her abortion.

But Republicans and a handful of elected officials in Joe Biden’s camp oppose this scenario.

– Demonstration on May 14-

Eager to bring attention to the debate, several large progressive organizations have called on Americans to march collectively across the United States on May 14.

There are four major marches in Washington, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and hundreds of rallies in the rest of the country.

US President Joe Biden has also pledged to join the fight personally and urged Americans to “choose candidates in favor” of abortion rights in the November 8 midterm legislative elections.

Thus he seeks to expand the majority of Democrats in the Senate, with the hope that he will be able to pass this federal law protecting access to abortion.

But these elections are always very dangerous for power, and it is quite possible that Democrats, on the contrary, will lose their meager majority in Congress during the voting.

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