Nancy Pelosi gives Nod to the House Preparing Bills aimed to Protect Abortion and Codify Supreme Court Decisions
How will they do in the Senate though?
Nancy Pelosi has indicated that she and her team will prepare votes on numerous bills that are aimed to protect abortion as well as codifying the Supreme Court decisions as a response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
In the letter to her caucus, Nancy Pelosi hinted at certain bills that will specifically respond to Justice Clarence Thomas and his concurring opinion which he called a revisit to other landmark rulings. The rulings Thomas wishes to revisit pertain to rights and protections such as same-sex relationships, marriage equality, and the right to buy and use contraceptives.
The fight against the Supreme Court’s decision seems to be rolling sooner than expected. It seems like a leverage tactic as the entire world is in an outcry of anger, especially from the Democratic base.
Nancy Pelosi pitched the letter and decision to move in the direction of adding protection to rights and existing rulings by saying, "Justice Clarence Thomas confirmed many of our deepest fears about where this decision may lead: taking aim at additional long-standing precedent and cherished privacy rights, from access to contraception and in-vitro fertilization to marriage equality. Legislation is being introduced to further codify freedoms that Americans currently enjoy. More information to follow."
According to Pelosi, House Democrats have been working the hardest they ever have been leading up to the possibility of overturning Roe. She also laid out some routes in which the House will aim to take:
Protecting data stored on reproductive health apps from being "used against women by a sinister prosecutor in a state that criminalizes abortion."
Affirming Americans' "constitutional right to travel freely and voluntarily throughout the United States."
Again passing the Women's Health Protection Act, legislation to ensure federal abortion rights.
In all honesty, no matter how bitter it is, the legislation will likely get nowhere in the Senate. We all have to remember that 60 votes are needed to bypass the filibuster.
Reality check: Much of this legislation will likely go nowhere in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to bypass the filibuster, meaning most Democratic legislation in a 50/50 chamber requires at least 10 Republican votes. This is why in her letter, Pelosi also asked Democrats to push harder for elections so they can come together to "eliminate the filibuster so that we can restore women’s fundamental rights — and freedom for every American."
The problem with this is that the Republicans when they get control of the House and Senate could very well remove these laws.
We don't need a law protecting abortion and other rights... we need a Constitutional Amendment.