A bipartisan group of senators has reintroduced a bill that would help codify abortion rights. The Reproductive Freedom for All Act was reintroduced by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine), following President Biden’s State of the Union.
Biden during his speech had focused on the importance of providing abortion access for all. He also called for Congress to restore those rights that had been stripped away by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that had protected abortion rights in the country for years. He added that if any bills reached his office which sought to impose a federal ban on abortions, he would make sure to veto them.
The bill, if passed , would block states from enforcing laws that could potentially impose an “undue burden” on abortions and could secure contraception access across the country. It had first been introduced in August, and Kaine had dubbed it a “bipartisan compromise” that would help secure reproductive freedom. Throughout 2022, the Democrats repeatedly attempted to move forward with legislation that would help protect abortion access through federal laws. However, due to the evenly split Senate, and the Republicans’ refusal to approve “over-encompassing bills” they have so far been unsuccessful in passing an abortion access bill.
Last year the House managed to pass two bills that were aiming to help protect abortion access, the Women’s Health Protection Act and the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act. While the first of these was not supported by any members of the GOP, the second one did have a handful of GOP lawmakers voting in favor of it. That bill protected the right to travel to another state to get abortion services.
