WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Senate Republicans blocked a slew of pro-abortion bills backed by Democrats this past week that were intended to act as show votes ahead of this year’s coming elections.
On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington introduced the so-called “Reproductive Freedom for Women Act.” The measure, which was endorsed by every female Democratic senator, as well as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), was a two-page “sense of Congress” bill.
The largely symbolic piece of legislation would have expressed “support for protecting access” to so-called “reproductive health care.” It would have also called for restoring and building upon the “protections enshrined in Roe v. Wade.”
“If Republicans are going to force women to stay pregnant, we are going to force them to be honest with the American people about their extreme position,” Murray unironically said on the chamber’s floor.
Two Republicans voted with Democrats in the bill’s favor, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Maine’s Susan Collins. The measure, which was supported by the Biden White House, needed 60 votes to move forward but failed by a 49-44 margin.
Democrats currently hold a 51-seat majority in the Senate, though four senators are independents who caucus with the party, among whom are socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin.
Schumer switched his vote from yes to “no” so he could introduce it again at a later date.
South Dakota Republican John Thune, the GOP’s minority whip since 2021, decried the vote as a political stunt.
“We call this the summer of Schumer shows votes,” he said ahead of Wednesday. The legislation had “no possibility of ever becoming law.”
Senate Republicans also prevented three other bills brought forward by Democrats this week.
On Tuesday, Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto failed to push through a measure via unanimous consent that would have prohibited the government from banning pregnant women from traveling from a pro-life state to procure an abortion elsewhere.
READ: US bishops must excommunicate Biden after his shameful pro-abortion State of the Union address
Republicans also shot down the “Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Health Care Act,” also sponsored by Murray. North Carolina GOP Senator Ted Budd said the bill “would make it easier for unborn life to be ended.”
Lastly, Kansas Republican Roger Marshall blocked a bill sponsored by Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin that would have directed taxpayer dollars to be spent on training medical providers in how to commit abortions.
As reported Monday by LifeSiteNews, the Republican Party’s new platform cuts the GOP’s longstanding support for a constitutional human life amendment. It also drops any mention of opposition to homosexual “marriage.” In 2016, the platform mentioned abortion 35 times while this year it is referenced only once in relation to late-term abortion.
Rumored Trump vice presidential pick, Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio, a Catholic, came out publicly in support of the changes. “I think our platform has to reflect our nominee” he said on CNN in early July. GOP Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, also a self-identified Catholic, has similarly expressed his support for abortion drugs to be legal across the U.S. “Donald Trump is the pragmatic leader here. He’s saying most abortion policy is going to be decided by the states,” Vance said on Meet the Press last month.
National polling aggregations by RealClearPolitics and RaceToTheWH indicate a widening lead for presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump since his debate for Joe Biden last month. It remains to be seen what impact abortion will have on either candidate.
The 2024 Republican National Convention is slated to begin on July 15 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and run until July 18. Pro-lifers interested in giving feedback to Republican leaders about its platform changes can find the social media accounts for the RNC and its co-chairs by clicking here, and for the convention’s social accounts by clicking here.