In a vote which may well alienate her pro-abortion supporters, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined all Senate Republicans, along with Democratic Sen. Joe Machin, of West Virginia, in voting against a radical abortion-expansion bill – the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA).
The 51-49 vote on May 12 blocked Democrats from advancing the legislation under the Senate’s filibuster protocols. The bill needed 60 votes to move forward.
Democrats have touted the bill as a way to circumvent a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the justices are expected to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 law that legalized abortion across the United States.
Murkowski’s own pro-abortion bill alternative, the Reproductive Choice Act, aims to codify most of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling. Her goal is to ensure that abortions can continue throughout the nation, even if the court ultimately strikes down Roe.
Murkowski’s bill would enshrine current abortion practices that have for the last 48 years resulting in the death of more than 62 million unborn babies. Her bill would also permit the practice of unlimited abortions after fetal viability so long as they are done to preserve the “health” of a woman – including mental and emotional.
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Murkowski’s plan, however, has failed to gain traction with powerful pro-abortion activists who don’t believe it goes far enough to actively strike down hundreds of pro-life laws in states across the nation.
NARAL Pro-Choice America, one of the most powerful abortion activist groups in the country, has publicly called out Murkowski in particular for failing to advance the extreme Women’s Health Protection Act.
“We have a message for the lawmakers who blocked this bill …,” NARAL President Mini Timmaraju said following the May 12 vote. “We’ll see you at the ballot box.”
