(DCWatchdog.com) – Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) thwarted another meaningful vote for Democrats on Wednesday when he indicated he would not be voting for a bill to guarantee abortion access nationwide.
Manchin’s last-minute revelation means the bill won’t even get 50 votes, a far cry from the 60 votes needed to pass such legislation, as all Republican Senators are expected to oppose the bill.
Speaking to reporters, Manchin said, “We’re going to be voting for a piece of legislation that I will not be voting for today.”
Stating that although they would be voting “for Roe. v. Wade codification today,” he “found out yesterday in caucus that that wasn’t going to be.”
Earlier this year, Manchin also dissented from fellow Democrats when he was the only Democratic Senator to vote against the same bill. But in the wake of the Supreme Court possibly overturning the precedent, Democrats believed this could be enough to persuade Manchin.
Trying to assuage Democrats who could be holdouts in this vote, like Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.), they removed findings from the bill that referred to abortion restrictions as perpetuating “white supremacy” and “a tool of gender oppression.”
However, the bill would still prevent state governments from limiting a health care provider’s ability to provide an immediate abortion service if delay would risk the patient’s health, requiring a patient to make “medically unnecessary in-person visits” before an abortion, and disclose their reason for requesting an abortion.
