Michael Hernandez
15 July 2022•Update: 16 July 2022
WASHINGTON
The US House of Representatives voted largely along party lines on Friday to restore federal abortion rights, though it is highly unlikely the Senate will follow suit.
The 219-210 vote was one of two in the House on abortions rights. Another, which sought to prohibit states from penalizing women who go out of state to receive an abortion, also passed 223-205.
There are slim odds that either will be able to clear the evenly-split Senate where Democrats control the 100-member body due to a procedural custom.
Democrats have sought to seize on the Supreme Court's June ruling, which rolled back protections for women seeking an abortion that had been in place for nearly 50 years, as the party heads into November's midterm elections amidst soaring inflation.
"Just three weeks ago, the Supreme Court took a wrecking ball to the fundamental rights by overturning Roe v. Wade. It is outrageous that 50 years later, women must again fight for our most basic rights against an extremist Court and Republican Party," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters ahead of the votes.
"We must ensure that the American people remember in November. Because with two more Democratic Senators, we will be able to eliminate the filibuster when it comes to a woman's right to choose and to make reproductive freedom the law of the land," she added.
Republicans had sought for half a century to have nationwide abortion rights repealed after the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case made them the law of the land.
Most Americans -- roughly 60% -- want to see abortion rights protected federally in all or most cases. Just 37% think abortion should be illegal, according to a Pew poll released June 13, just over a week before the Supreme Court nixed nationwide protections.
