Senate Votes on Two Extreme Anti-Abortion Measures

(Washington, D.C.) Today, the Senate will vote on two anti-abortion bills.
One bill – S. 310 and S. 311 – would deny families the ability to decide for themselves how they would like to spend the last moments with their dying child. This legislation would tie the hands of health care professionals and force them to provide treatment that goes against the decision of the patient and best judgment of the health care professionals.

The other bill – S. 3275 – would ban abortions at the arbitrary cutoff date of 20 weeks. This legislation is an attempt to override the core principles of Roe v. Wade and interfere in the provider-patient relationship.

Both bills have previously been rejected in recent years and are both unconstitutional and medically inaccurate. However, Mitch McConnell has chosen to prioritize these votes over other critical legislation in support of anti-abortion lawmakers.

The following is a statement by Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC):

“Simply put, these bills shouldn’t even exist. They spread junk science and medically inaccurate myths aimed at restricting women and patients from making decisions about their own health and lives. Families deserve a senate that will act in their interest – not lawmakers who use this ruse to distract from their attacks that range from separating families to slashing Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

These attacks come at a time when there is a broader movement for gender justice in this country, so it’s unsurprising that some politicians feel threatened and are working to fight this progress. They are using abortion restrictions and bans to control the lives and futures of women, denying them basic equality. It’s most important to bring the focus to the people at the center of these decisions, instead of the politicians fighting for reelection.”