Unconstitutional, Trump-Backed 20-Week Abortion Ban Goes Down in Senate
Jan 29, 2018
Christine Grimaldi
An unconstitutional 20-week abortion ban notable for attempting to legitimize junk science and foist onerous reporting requirements on rape and incest survivors came to a halt on Monday in the U.S. Senate.
The perennial GOP-sponsored legislation (S 2311) failed, 51-46, to reach the Senate’s 60-vote threshold typically required to advance controversial legislation around a filibuster. GOP Sens. Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK), who have mixed voting records on abortion rights, voted against the 20-week ban. Three Democrats—Sens. Joe Manchin (WV), Joe Donnelly (IN), and Bob Casey (PA)—crossed party lines to vote for it. Manchin and Donnelly both serve on the federal advisory board of Democrats For Life of America, an anti-choice group that uses conservative talking points and medically unsupported falsehoods about reproductive health care.