July 10, 2024

Manchin Pushes For Vote On Bipartisan Bill To Codify Roe V. Wade, Criticizes Political Theatrics

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV) urged Senate leadership to bring the bipartisan Reproductive Freedom for All Act up for a vote on the Senate floor rather than continuing to prioritize partisan messaging votes.

Senate Democrats brought the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act to the Senate floor for a vote. This legislation expresses the sense of Congress that the protections of Roe v. Wade should be codified, but includes no mechanism to enforce it. In February 2024, Senator Manchin cosponsored the bipartisan Reproductive Freedom for All Act, which would simply codify the longstanding, established precedent of Roe v. Wade that protected women’s abilities to make their own health care decisions.

“I’m disappointed Senate Democrats are prioritizing political theatrics over actually enshrining the essential reproductive health protections that have been law of the land for more than fifty years. The partisan bill brought to the floor today has no teeth and accomplishes nothing. This is exactly why people are so sick of political games. Because I believe in the balanced protections established under Roe v. Wade that we all learned to live with, I voted in favor of this messaging bill, but I also call on Leader Schumer to bring to the floor our bipartisan bill that I cosponsored with Senators Collins, Kaine, Murkowski and Sinema that would finally codify Roe v. Wade into law. I’m proud to support this balanced, practical bill and I hope that Senate Democrats and Republicans will come together to pass this most reasonable compromise,” said Senator Manchin.

The Reproductive Freedom for All Act would:

  • Prohibit state regulations that impose an undue burden on a woman’s access to pre-viability abortions, while allowing states to enact reasonable restrictions on post-viability abortions – provided that states cannot ban abortions that are necessary to protect the life or health of the woman;
  • Protect access to contraceptives; and
  • Preserve conscience protections.

The full text of the Reproductive Freedom for All Act is available here.