Senator Joe Manchin Will Vote No on Democrat Bill to Legalize Abortions Up to Birth

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   May 11, 2022   |   1:26PM   |   Washington, DC

Senator Joe Manchin will vote against a Democrat bill today that would legalize abortions up to birth and strike down every pro-life law in America.

Senate Republicans are expected to vote today against the measure but Manchin will be joining them — and is expected to be the only Democrat to do so. Senators will be voting on cloture — whether to end debate and allow a vote on the the misnamed Women’s Health Protection Act.

Democrat leaders and many mainstream news outlets portray the bill as an effort to simply “codify the right to an abortion” in the U.S. in response to the likelihood that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade later this year. The bill would:

  • Eliminate all state and federal parental consent laws in relation to abortion
  • Eliminate all state informed consent laws, including those that allow women to view an ultrasound prior to abortion
  • Prevent states from passing laws to protect babies at 20 weeks, thereby joining countries like North Korea, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Canada, and the Netherlands in not protecting unborn children later in development
  • Force doctors and nurses opposed to abortion to lose their jobs, and Catholic hospitals could lose public funds unless they perform abortions
  • Eliminate decades-long limitations on direct taxpayer funding of abortion – including the popular Hyde Amendment, which has saved more than 2 million lives since enacted

In short, the legislation would overturn all federal and state pro-life laws and make it illegal for elected officials to even introduce pro-life legislation.

And that’s why Manchin is a no.

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“They’re trying to make people believe that this is the same thing as codifying Roe v. Wade. And I want you to know, it’s not. This is not the same. It expands abortion,” he said this morning.

Bans on partial-birth abortions, sex-selection abortions and taxpayer-funded abortions would be gone if the bill passes. Laws that protect women and girls would be eliminated, too, including parental consent for minors and informed consent laws that ensure mothers receive basic facts about their unborn baby’s development before going through with an abortion.

Senator Ben Sasse, an outspoken pro-life advocate, said the bill proves Democrats aren’t reasonable on abortion.

“This legislation will make Planned Parenthood’s army of lobbyists happy, but it’s going to alienate a lot of Americans. This pro-abortion extremism is completely out-of-touch with mainstream America. While Planned Parenthood, President Biden, and Speaker Pelosi embrace fringe pro-abortion politics, pro-lifers are offering a compassionate pro-baby, pro-woman, pro-science message,” he said.

The bill passed the House last year, but Democrats don’t have the votes to get past the filibuster in the Senate.

Pro-life leaders say the bill would go beyond even Roe by nullifying state laws that protect unborn babies from late-term and partial-birth abortions.

“This radical ‘Abortion Until Birth Act’ would block popular pro-life laws around the country, including limits on late-term abortions when unborn babies feel pain, and effectively enshrine an unlimited abortion ‘right’ in federal law,” said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Pro-abortion Democrats are desperate to stop the pro-life momentum demonstrated by pro-life laws advancing in state legislatures nationwide.”

Even among many Democrat voters, the bill is too extreme. Polls consistently show that a strong majority of Americans oppose late-term abortions and taxpayer-funded abortions. A 2022 Marist poll found that just 36 percent of Americans believe abortions should be legal without any restrictions. Additionally, 73 percent oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions.

Similarly, a 2021 Associated Press poll found that 65 percent believe second-trimester abortions should be illegal and 80 percent believe they should be illegal in the third trimester.

And a Gallup poll last year found a majority of Americans want all or most abortions made illegal.