WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The House has voted to restore rights nationwide in Democrats' first legislative response to the .
The bill has little chance of becoming law, with the necessary support lacking in the 50-50 Senate. Yet voting marks the beginning of a new era in the debate as lawmakers, governors and legislatures grapple with the impact of the court's decision.
The legislation passed 219-210. The House also passed a second bill to prohibit punishment for a woman or child who decides to travel to another state to get an abortion, 223-205.
鈥淛ust three weeks ago the Supreme Court took a wrecking ball to the fundamental rights by overturning Roe v. Wade,鈥� said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ahead of the votes, gathering with other Democratic women on the steps of the Capitol. 鈥淚t is outrageous that 50 years later, women must again fight for our most basic rights against an extremist court.鈥�
Republicans spoke forcefully against the two bills, praising the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision and warning that the legislation would go further than Roe ever did when it comes to legalizing abortion.
Urging her colleagues to vote no, Washington GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers called abortion 鈥渢he greatest human rights issue of our generation.鈥�
She said the Democratic legislation 鈥渉as nothing to do with protecting the health of women. It has everything to do with forcing an extreme agenda on the American people.鈥�
The White House hailed Friday's votes as an 鈥渋mportant step.鈥�
鈥淭hese bills would ensure women鈥檚 access to essential health care services, regardless of where they live, and protect the bedrock right to cross state lines for medical care,鈥� press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. 鈥淎 majority of Americans across the country support them.鈥� She called the GOP's refusal to support the bills 鈥渆xtreme鈥� and 鈥渙ut of touch.鈥�
By overturning Roe, the court has allowed states to enact strict abortion limits, including many that had previously been deemed unconstitutional. The ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.
Already, a number of GOP-controlled states have moved quickly to curtail or outlaw abortion, while states controlled by Democrats have sought to champion access. Voters as among the most pressing issues facing the country, a shift in priorities that Democrats hope will reshape the political landscape in their favor for the midterm elections.
This is the second time the House has passed the bill, which would expand on the protections Roe had previously provided by banning what supporters say are medically unnecessary restrictions that block access to safe and accessible abortions. It would prevent abortion bans earlier than 24 weeks, which is when fetal viability, the ability of a human fetus to survive outside the uterus, is generally thought to begin. It allows exceptions for abortions after fetal viability when a provider determines the life or health of the mother is at risk.
The Democrats鈥� proposal would also prevent states from requiring providers to share 鈥渕edically inaccurate鈥� information, or from requiring additional tests or waiting periods, often aimed at dissuading a patient from having an abortion.
The bill that would prohibit punishment for traveling out of state would specify that doctors can鈥檛 be punished for providing reproductive care outside their home state. Democratic Rep. Lizzie Fletcher of Texas, one of the bill鈥檚 authors, said the threats to travel 鈥渇ail to reflect the fundamental rights that are granted in our Constitution.鈥�
Democrats have highlighted the case of a 10-year-old girl who into Indiana to get an abortion after being raped, calling it an example of how the court's decision is already having severe consequences.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have to imagine why this might matter. We don鈥檛 need to conjure up hypotheticals. We already know what鈥檚 happened,鈥� Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday on the Senate floor.
鈥淪hould the next little 10-year-old's right or 12-year-old's right or 14-year-old's right to get the care that she desperately needs be put in jeopardy?"
The Constitution doesn鈥檛 explicitly say travel between states is a right, though the Supreme Court has said it is a right that 鈥渉as been firmly established and repeatedly recognized.鈥� Yet the court has never said exactly where the right to travel comes from and that could leave it open to challenge or elimination, as the right to an abortion was.
Lawmakers in Missouri earlier this year, for example, making it illegal to 鈥渁id or abet鈥� abortions that violate Missouri law, even if they occur out of state. The proposal was ultimately shelved.
Democrats have teed up more bills for passage in the coming weeks. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Friday that the House will vote next week on legislation guaranteeing a right to contraception.
GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, who supports instituting a nationwide ban on abortion, accused his colleagues across the aisle Thursday of seeking to 鈥渋nflame" the issue of abortion. He said proponents of the travel bill should ask themselves, 鈥淒oes the child in the womb have the right to travel in their future?鈥�
Only two Senate Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, have been supportive of abortion rights, but they do not support the Democrats' proposal, calling it too far-reaching. They have introduced alternative legislation that would bar states from placing an "undue burden鈥� on a woman's ability to obtain an abortion before fetal viability, among other provisions.
When pressed Thursday on whether Democrats should work with the two senators, Pelosi pushed back, 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to negotiate a woman鈥檚 right to choose."
Since the court's ruling last month, some activists have accused President Joe Biden and other top Democrats of failing to respond forcefully enough to the decision. Biden, who denounced the court's ruling as 鈥渆xtreme,鈥� last week intended to head off some potential penalties that women seeking abortion may face. His administration has also that they must offer abortion if the life of the mother is at risk.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee has already to energize voters on the issue, warning that Republicans鈥� ultimate goal is to outlaw abortion nationwide.
鈥淲e have to elect a couple more Democratic senators so that we can get around the filibuster so that we can pass legislation that truly impacts a woman鈥檚 right to choose,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no halfway measure.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Jessica Gresko contributed to this report.
Farnoush Amiri And Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press
