Extreme abortion-on-demand bill fails in US Senate; 'stop pushing abortion,' bishops urge (USCCB)

On May 11, the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 (S.4132) was defeated in the Senate in a 49-51 vote, with 60 votes needed to invoke cloture (“end the filibuster”).

The bill, approved by the House in a 218-211 vote, had previously failed in the Senate. The measure would have “imposed abortion on demand nationwide at any stage of pregnancy through federal statute and would have eliminated pro-life laws at every level of government—including parental notification for minor girls, informed consent, and health or safety protections specific to abortion facilities,” the US bishops’ conference noted.

“We are relieved that the Senate vote to advance this bill failed for the second time in less than three months,” said Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore (chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities) and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York (chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty), who described the bill as “far more extreme than Roe v. Wade.”

“More than 60 million unborn children have already lost their lives to abortion, and countless women suffer from the physical and emotional trauma of abortion,” they added, as they implored Congress “to stop pushing abortion as a solution to the needs of women and young girls.”