Democrats Keep Forcing Senate Republicans to Go on Record With Their Anti-Abortion Extremism
As Trump works to present his party as moderate on abortion, Senate Dems have introduced a number of bills to prove otherwise, with one GOP senator dubbing their abortion rights legislation as “the summer of Schumer show votes.”
Photo: Getty Images AbortionPolitics
In recent days, since the Republican Party adopted its official 2024 platform, you’ve probably seen headlines along the lines of “Following Trump’s Lead, Republicans Adopt Platform That Softens Stance on Abortion,” or “RNC approves Trump-centric platform with softened language on abortion.” All of these are…in sharp contrast with what we’ve seen from Senate Republicans this week. Days after blocking bills that, among other common-sense measures, would protect a right to interstate abortion-related travel, Senate Republicans on Wednesday went directly on the record against access to reproductive health care.
After Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) brought the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act for a vote, every Republican senator except Sens. Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) rejected it. The bill is largely symbolic—it expresses support for access to reproductive care including abortion, and states, “It is the sense of Congress that protections for access to abortion rights and other reproductive health care after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health should be supported,” and that the protections of Roe v. Wade “should be restored and built upon.” In effect, it’s a statement of support that wouldn’t yield policy change—but effectively forces Republicans to state their position outright.
Prior to the vote, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said the bill had “no possibility of ever becoming law” and accused Democrats of political posturing ahead of November: “We call this the summer of [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer show votes.” Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) claimed the bill would “take us backward” (???). “The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision brought renewed hope to Americans who believe in the sanctity of each and every life, including life in the womb,” he said, further arguing Murray’s bill, which wouldn’t affect policy change, “would make it easier for unborn life to be ended.”