Pelosi lets the house vote on abortion across the country later this month on a bill that would protect the rights.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif’s announcement comes after a divided Supreme Court late Wednesday denied an effort by abortion-rights groups to halt a Texas law that took effect earlier in that bans people from having the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy.
The court declined to block enforcement of the law, the most restrictive in the nation, over the objection of three liberal associate justices and Chief Justice John Roberts.
The Texas law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May, bans abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur at six weeks. The law doesn’t include exceptions for rape or incest but allows people to have the procedure for “medical emergencies.”
“Upon our return, the House will bring up Congresswoman Judy Chu’s Women’s Health Protection Act to enshrine into law reproductive health care for all women across America,” Pelosi said in a statement. “The Supreme Court’s cowardly, dark-of-night decision to uphold a flagrantly unconstitutional assault on women’s rights and health is staggering.”
The Women’s Health Protection Act would guarantee a pregnant person’s right to abort, along with providers being able to perform abortions.
It would do so by establishing a statutory right to perform or receive the procedure, free from restrictions that single out abortion care.
“Unlike the Supreme Court, we were elected. And we were elected on the promise we would protect the rights of women no matter where they live. This is how we do that!” Chu, the bill’s sponsor, wrote on Twitter Thursday.
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