The Failed Senate Abortion Bill Went Far Beyond Preserving Current Rights

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

54% : Because the Kentucky law, "like the statute in Casey, requires the disclosure of truthful, nonmisleading, and relevant information about an abortion," the appeals court said, "we hold that it does not violate a doctor's right to free speech under the First Amendment."
44% : The Women's Health Protection Act of 2022 says states may not ban abortion prior to "viability" (i.e., the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb), which nowadays is generally said to occur at 23 or 24 weeks of gestation.
43% : The Senate yesterday rejected a bill that would have blocked state restrictions on abortion, including bans that are likely to be passed or take effect after the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, as it is expected to do soon.
42% : The Court concluded that the law, because of its narrow scope, did not impose an "undue burden" on abortion.
42% :It seems to follow that if Congress can prohibit barriers to abortion under the Commerce Clause, it can also erect barriers.
41% : Manchin complained that the bill would instead "expand abortion."
41% : The implication is that a Republican Congress, with the assistance of a Republican president, could simply ban abortion nationwide without bothering to cite any constitutional authority.
40% : Assuming that the Supreme Court overturns Roe and Casey in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, the abortion case it is now considering, that would mean Congress has no power to regulate abortion (or abortion laws) under the 14th Amendment.
38% : And it does that without citing any constitutional authority, a dangerous precedent that invites a future Congress controlled by Republicans to ban abortion nationwide without even paying lip service to limits on the federal government's powers.
38% : Casey prohibits laws that impose an "undue burden" on the right to abortion, including regulations that place "a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus."
36% : If you accept the constitutional reasoning on which the House version of the Women's Health Protection Act relies, Congress could even impose a comprehensive ban on abortion.

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