Senate Democrats put GOP on the defensive with emergency abortion access initiative

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate president pro tempore, asked for unanimous consent to adopt a resolution she and a group of Democrats introduced last week affirming that every person has the right to emergency medical care, including emergency abortions.

The move, which requires the approval of all 100 senators to pass a bill, was doomed to failure in the face of opposition from the Republican Party. Republicans have largely adopted former President Donald Trump’s position that the issue should be left to the states.

In an emotional plea on the Senate floor, Murray said Republicans were putting doctors in a difficult position and women’s lives at risk with a wave of state-level abortion restrictions following the overturning of the abortion law. Roe v. Wade.

“The Senate needs to speak with one voice and say to the American people: Yes, we want to make sure your doctor can save your life, your doctor can save your life,” she said. “Before my Republican colleagues rise to object, let me be clear: You will not get away with pretending that a resolution like this is unnecessary, not when we are now hearing firsthand from doctors who are racked with guilt over decisions that Republican politicians made for them.”

“Not when they hear first-hand accounts from women who have bled, suffered and nearly died because their care was delayed,” she added.

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) opposed the resolution, saying he believed it was unnecessary because “no state prohibits providing life-saving care to the mother.” The Oklahoma senator argued that it is “political rhetoric” that affects doctors’ decisions.

“I oppose this resolution because of the wording and what we’re doing, but yes, we should continue to be able to have this conversation because there is a real concern that more and more doctors are afraid to provide basic health care in the emergency room because more and more people are saying they’re going to be arrested, which is not true,” Lankford said in a speech on the Senate floor.

“There has not been a single doctor in the country who has been arrested for providing life-saving care to a mother in an emergency room in the country,” he added.

Additionally, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who is running for re-election in November, failed to pass a bill by unanimous consent that would help cover travel costs for people seeking out-of-state abortions.

“Twenty-two states in the country ban abortion, which means that one in three women of reproductive age lives in a state where they can’t get the health care they need because politicians tell them they know better,” Baldwin said during the plenary session. “Women spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on travel, housing, meals and child care just to make their own health decisions.”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) opposed the bill, arguing that it violates the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions. The Alabama senator blocked hundreds of military promotions last year to protest the Pentagon’s decision to reimburse travel expenses incurred by a service member or their dependent when they travel out of state for an abortion.

“Let’s be clear, taxpayer dollars are being used for one purpose: to kill unborn children,” Tuberville said. “While abortion procedures are not covered by this bill, it does cover all other costs associated with performing abortions.”

.@SenSchumer Speaking on an upcoming resolution that would affirm access to emergency abortion care: “A person’s ability to receive life-saving care, including life-saving reproductive care, should never depend on the state in which they live.” pic.twitter.com/KZyCQm3bPZ

— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) September 24, 2024

The Democrats’ moves follow an investigation by ProPublica The death of a 28-year-old pregnant woman in Georgia is being blamed on a delay in abortion. Democrats, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, their presidential candidate, say the infection that led to her death can be traced to “Trump’s abortion bans.”

This summer, the Supreme Court rejected a case over whether an Idaho abortion law could coexist with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, which requires hospitals to provide stabilizing care to people with emergency conditions. The decision temporarily allows emergency abortions to continue in the state.

At a news conference with reporters Tuesday afternoon, Murray defended the idea of ​​presenting his initiative as a resolution rather than a bill that would change the language of EMTALA.

“In the time we have, knowing that women are now dying because they can’t get the care they need in the emergency room, we want to make it clear that Congress’ intent is that women can get life-saving care when they go to the emergency room anywhere in this country,” Murray said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has used his control of the Senate to advance a number of “showcase votes” in recent months to put abortion access, the border and gun control in the spotlight ahead of the election.

“I hope my Republican colleagues will support the bill today. To say no would send a heartfelt and cruel message to the American people,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday.

REPUBLICANS SAY RARE ABORTION HEARING IS INTENDED TO ‘SCORE POLITICAL POINTS’

The latest push comes as the Senate Finance Committee also held a hearing Tuesday titled “Chaos and Control: How Trump Criminalized Women’s Health Care,” drawing criticism from Republicans on the committee.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) criticized the hearing, saying that “Democrats are trying to find opportunities to score points on the one issue they think they have a chance of winning in the next election, regardless of the truth.”

Republicans have generally tried to counter that message by portraying Democrats as extremists opposed to banning late-term abortion.

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Murray hit back at Republicans who called the move partisan messaging in a highly competitive election year.

“What’s better today than to make sure that if a woman is suffering from sepsis, or hemorrhaging, or imminent death, why don’t we talk about it?” Murray asks. “Are we going to let women die? We’re not going to do that.”

Gabrielle M. Etzel contributed to this report.