House Passes Bills To Codify Roe And Protect Interstate Travel For Abortion Care – By Alanna Vagianos (Huffpost) / July 15, 2022
The House took action to protect abortion rights three weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The House passed two bills on Friday meant to protect abortion access in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, including by ensuring people are able to travel across state lines to access care. But both bills are almost certainly doomed in the Senate, thanks to filibuster rules and Republican opposition.
The House passed the Women’s Health Protection Act, legislation that aims to codify the Roe decision’s protections, in a 219 to 210 vote. It also passed the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, a bill that seeks to protect people who are forced to travel out of state to receive abortion care, in a 223 to 205 vote.
As Republicans at the state-level act quickly to ban and severely restrict abortion, activists have urged federal lawmakers to take steps to protect access. And although the bills are likely doomed to die by filibuster in the Senate, the House passage lays the groundwork for future steps ― and sets the stage for more intense pressure on Democratic senators and the Biden administration to do something.
“Is this the United States of America? Where Republicans in these states can say to these women, ‘You cannot cross state lines for your own good health?’” asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during Friday morning’s floor debate.
