Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senate To Vote On Abortion Bill As Democrats Warn GOP Will Push National Ban
Reuters: U.S. Senate To Vote Wednesday On Abortion Rights Bill, Schumer Says
The U.S. Senate will vote on legislation to codify abortion rights into law on Wednesday in reaction to the leaked draft decision indicating the Supreme Court is poised to overturn its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday. "Every American will see how every senator stands," Schumer said during a news conference with state leaders in New York. Republicans "can't duck it anymore. Republicans have tried to duck it." (5/8)
The Wall Street Journal: Congress Set To Clash On Abortion Following Draft Opinion On Roe V. Wade
The vote has no chance of succeeding in the 50-50 Senate. But Democrats think disagreement with Republicans on the issue could help them at the polls. “If we are not successful, then we go to the ballot box,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “We march straight to the ballot box, and the women of this country and the men who stand with them will vote like they’ve never voted before.” (Hughes, 5/8)
The New York Times: Senate Democrats Warn Of G.O.P. Effort To Restrict Abortion Nationwide
Democrats rang alarm bells on Sunday about the likelihood that Republicans would try to restrict abortion nationwide, two days after an interview was published in which Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, said a ban was “possible” if his party gained control in Washington. On the Sunday talk shows and in other public statements, Democratic senators said Republicans would not stop at letting the states decide the issue, but would most likely push for federal restrictions. That made it paramount, they said, that the Democratic Party maintain control of the Senate as it tries to codify abortion rights into federal law. (Broadwater, 5/8)
USA Today: GOP Avoids Abortion Ahead Of Potential SCOTUS Ruling To Overturn Roe
Republicans are on the verge of a long-sought legal victory – striking down Roe v. Wade – but their political candidates are in no rush to talk about it on the campaign trail. GOP campaign officials are advising candidates to downplay and soft-pedal the prospects of anti-abortion legislation as they battle pro-choice Democrats for control of Congress and various statehouses across the country. ... Asked Thursday if a national ban, which anti-abortion activists are pursuing, is something worthy of a debate now or should wait until after the election, [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell acknowledged the possibility, even though he considers the discussion premature. "If the leaked opinion became the final opinion, legislative bodies – not only at the state level but at the federal level – certainly could legislate in that area," McConnell said. (Jackson and Bailey, 5/7)
The Hill: Graham Says Roe V. Wade Created ‘Constitutional Right That Didn’t Exist’
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) on Sunday said the 1973 Supreme Court precedent Roe v. Wade “created a constitutional right that didn’t exist” when justices ruled Americans have a right to privacy and legalized abortion in the U.S. Graham told “Fox News Sunday” anchor Bret Baier the ruling has divided the public since its inception. (Dress, 5/8)
The Hill: Klobuchar Says Alito Is ‘Taking Us Back To The 1850s’
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Sunday said Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is “taking us back to the 1850s” in his draft majority opinion that shows the bench poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. “This is 50 years of rights in a leaked opinion where Justice Alito is literally not just taking us back to the 1950s, he’s taking us back to 1850s. He actually cites the fact that abortion was criminalized back when the 14th Amendment was adopted,” Klobuchar told anchor Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week.” (Schnell, 5/8)
The New York Times: Midterms’ Biggest Abortion Battleground: Pennsylvania
Jan Downey, who calls herself “a Catholic Republican,” is so unhappy about the Supreme Court’s likely reversal of abortion rights that she is leaning toward voting for a Democrat for Pennsylvania governor this year. “Absolutely,” she said. “On that issue alone.” Linda Ward, also a Republican, said the state’s current law allowing abortion up to 24 weeks was “reasonable.” But Ms. Ward said she would vote for a Republican for governor, even though all the leading candidates vowed to sign legislation sharply restricting abortion. She is disgusted with inflation, mask mandates and “woke philosophy,” she said. (Gabriel, 5/8)
In related abortion news from the federal government —
AP: Abortion Adds To Biden's All-But-Impossible To-Do List
President Joe Biden’s list of impossible tasks keeps getting longer. Despite lofty promises he’s made, from the campaign trail through his first year in office, he has limited power to safeguard voting rights or expand the fight against climate change on his own. And now it’s become clear that Biden has no good options for preserving abortion access as the Supreme Court appears poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. (Megerian, 5/6)
Bloomberg: Roe V. Wade: U.S. Military Risks A Drop In Female Troops Under Abortion Rollback
U.S. troops could see their access to abortion severely curtailed if the Supreme Court overturns its landmark ruling on reproductive rights, potentially hurting military recruitment and the retention of women. As employees of the federal government, doctors on military bases are already banned from performing abortions so female troops -- and the female spouses of troops -- must seek out the procedure on their own. That would become much more difficult if the Supreme Court overturns the precedent set in its Roe v. Wade ruling almost five decades ago, as a leaked draft ruling indicates it’s likely to do. (Tiron, 5/6)
