At Biden's Bidding, U.S. House Forcing Vote This Week on Unconstitutional Bill To Codify Roe

Life is winning. Life is winning in the courts. Life is winning in the hearts and minds of Americans. And most importantly, life is winning where it matters most—with the individual mothers who are making the decision to carry their child to term and afford them a full and productive life.

But even in the face of these positive trends and the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the abortion industry remains committed to abortion on demand, for any reason, and in every jurisdiction in the United States and around the world. The latest evidence of this obsession is found in the U.S. House of Representatives this week, where Speaker Pelosi has again scheduled a vote on the so-called Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which would not only codify Roe v. Wade into federal law, but also eviscerate every protection of both the birth mother and the baby under state law.

The abortion industry would have you believe that it is both “pro-choice” and in the business of providing “women’s healthcare.” But the legislation that is poised to pass the U.S. House this week would specifically prohibit state laws that require birth mothers be given thorough information about the abortion procedure—information designed to help that mother make a true “choice.” It would also deprive women of any assurance that abortion clinics meet basic health and safety standards or have the ability to admit a mother to a nearby hospital should she require lifesaving care after an abortion gone wrong.

The truth is that the abortion industry is neither “pro-choice” or “pro-woman.” It is simply pro-abortion.

It is also worth noting that the WHPA is substantively similar to a previous version of the bill that passed the U.S. House in September 2021, but twice failed to be enacted by the Senate. There is no reason for Speaker Pelosi to schedule a new vote on this legislation, but she is doing so because it is the only chamber in which her position is likely to be approved.

If passed in the House, the new version will again move to the U.S. Senate, where the ACLJ will again oppose its passage and will again argue that it is unconstitutional.

In a second abortion-related bill this week, the U.S. House will attempt to distract from the atrocious WHPA by also voting on legislation that purports to prevent states from impeding mothers from crossing state lines to obtain an abortion in a state that allows it. This legislation is attempting to deceive Americans about the current state of abortion law in America. As we’ve repeatedly reminded you, the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs did not make abortion illegal in the United States. It merely reinstated a state’s rightful authority to regulate it. Therefore, unless and until a federal protection for pre-born life were to be enacted, it is abundantly clear that some states will move to aggressively promote abortion within its borders, and would likely attract out-of-state mothers to cross state lines to receive an abortion. It’s a tragic reality, and the U.S. House claiming this reality as a societal good worthy of proactive defense in federal law is nothing short of tragic.

At the ACLJ, we are committed on both the federal and state levels to protecting life under the law and to supporting efforts to come alongside birth mothers who make the heroic decision to carry their child to term. We call on the U.S. Congress to see these two bills for what they are and to reject any effort to again impinge on a state’s authority to protect human life within its borders.

You can join us in this defense of life by signing our petition to protect life here.