Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
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Despite the loud demands from members of the left, it is highly unlikely that Democrats will muster the support needed to end the filibuster in an attempt to prevent the overturn of Roe v. Wade that now appears likely.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made headlines Tuesday when he tweeted, “Congress must pass legislation that codifies Roe v. Wade as the law of the land in this country NOW. And if there aren’t 60 votes in the Senate to do it, and there are not, we must end the filibuster to pass it with 50 votes.”
Congress must pass legislation that codifies Roe v. Wade as the law of the land in this country NOW. And if there aren’t 60 votes in the Senate to do it, and there are not, we must end the filibuster to pass it with 50 votes.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 3, 2022
This call to action will likely never materialize as moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema appear unwavering in their support of maintaining the filibuster.
According to The Hill, Manchin said, “The filibuster is the only protection we have in democracy.”
Sinema, who is pro-choice, did not use the word filibuster when issuing a statement in defense of Roe vs. Wade, but she did refer to the result of 60-vote actions in the Senate.
“Protections in the Senate safeguarding against the erosion of women’s access to health care have been used half-a-dozen times in the past ten years, and are more important now than ever,” Sinema said.
As of Wednesday, according to a tabulation by Axios, liberals don’t even have enough votes to pass the law even if there were no filibuster and getting to 50 or 60 votes is a difficult feat for either party when it comes to abortion battles.
Historically, the topic of abortion is an area which has seen senators and representatives vote against the dominant stance of their party. But, even though there are still pro-choice Republicans and pro-life Democrats, a rerack of allies does nothing to change the calculations for the pro-choice side.
There are two pro-choice Republicans in the Senate, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, but Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Manchin are both pro-life.
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah began his political career as a pro-choice advocate, but has long since switched to the pro-life side.
Despite the almost certainty of the law’s failure, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised to force a vote on making Roe v. Wade the law of the land.