Senate defeats anti-abortion bill, as GOP attempts to block Dems

On Monday, the Senate rejected a bill that made it criminal for a doctor to injure or neglect an infant surviving an "abortion attempt," as part of a Republican effort aimed at squeezing the Democrats before the 2020 campaign.

The vote was divided mainly between the parties, 53-44. Democratic Meaning. Bob Casey, Doug Jones and Joe Manchin crossed the aisle to vote in his favor and no Republican broke ranks. Sixty votes were needed for the bill to move forward.

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"It is obvious that the far left is no longer convinced that all babies are created equal," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Prior to the vote, Republican sponsors of the bill and outside anti-abortion groups lobbying for its adoption made it clear that the intention of Monday's vote was to undermine the growing number of Senate Democrats running for president.

In a speech just before the vote, Senator Ben Sasse, the author of the bill, quoted speeches by Democrats, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders, who pledged to protect the "voiceless and the vulnerable" from hypocrisy for opposing the regulations of his bill concerning the care of newborns

"Was it just a song for the campaign and for short sentences? Or do people want to say what they say here?" he said of his colleagues with the aspirations of the White House.

Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group closely allied with Hill Republicans and the Trump administration, said Monday that they were closely watching this vote to see if the leading Democratic presidential candidates in 2020 would figure in the report for or against infanticide. . "

"This bill is important in itself, but it is also important as a structure for the upcoming elections, where there will be a stark contrast between the President of the United States and one of the Democratic Party candidates." , Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the SBA List said in an interview. She was standing right in front of the Senate Chamber and pressuring the senators who were coming in to vote.

Sanders, Harris, Warren, Booker and Gillibrand all voted against the measure. Senator Sherrod Brown, another Democratic senator studying a candidacy for the White House, complained to POLITICO that the vote had taken place in bad faith.

"It's a pure Mitch McConnell, everything is done so that his base remains aligned while the president becomes more and more unpopular," said the Democrat of Ohio. "We do not do infrastructure, we do not do health care, we do not do anything important to help our country, only abortion votes. and other types of division votes that he will lead. "

Democrats and reproductive rights advocates have criticized the bill, saying it was already a crime to harm or neglect a child, and that the "medically irresponsible" The bill would prevent doctors from deciding on a case-by-case basis what is best for infants and mothers.

"This bill is not meant to protect young children, as the Republicans have argued, because it is not a subject to debate and it is already the law," he said. said Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.). "This bill is an interference by the government in the health care provided to women, in the lives of families and in steroid drug treatment."

The bill had already been introduced in the House now by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Sasse initially tried to force a vote earlier this month, capitalizing on a wave of indignation among conservatives after New York eased its restrictions on third-trimester abortions and besieged the governor of New York. Virginia, Ralph Northam, gave an interview to advocate for similar efforts in her state.

The Democrats led by Murray opposed this accelerated procedure and blocked a vote on the ground, prompting Republicans to pledge to try again.

Susan B. Anthony's list said earlier this month that even if the Senate did not have the right to vote to adopt abortion restrictions, it should continue to vote to pressure Democrats and divide the caucus. This decision is part of a larger strategy to maintain current abortion restrictions while strengthening the GOP's conservative base by 2020 and attracting the attention of self-employed people who may be upset by the GOP. the position of Democrats on the right to abortion.

"We are witnessing a progressive movement to drive a corner in the middle of the Democratic Party, and soon, here, they will have to cry out pity," said Dannenfelser.