Democrats at odds with Harris over filibuster abortion carve-out

3 weeks ago 13

Presented by Prevent Cancer Foundation — 'We should approach it very carefully'

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The Democrats at odds with Harris over filibuster abortion carve-out

Vice President Harris reignited conversations over possible carve-out of the Senate filibuster rule to establish a right to abortion at the federal level, a prospect some Democrats in Congress are leery of.

In an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio broadcast this week, Harris said, “I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe.”

“And get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do,” she added.

But Democrats said they were worried Republicans could use the same tactic to pass their own priorities.

“We should approach it very carefully because what goes around comes around. That’s one of the few permanent rules of the United States Senate,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said.

“I think it would be good to have a national abortion [law] to protect the reproductive freedom of women, and I think we should try to get it, but I don’t think the first procedure would be to change the rules of the Senate,” added Reed.

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) spoke in favor of gathering 60 votes in lieu of rewriting filibuster rules, opining that lowering the threshold to a simple majority in the Senate would lead to sudden reversals that undermined national stability.

“I have actually gone and talked to a couple Republican senators just to sound them out. They’re cautious, but I think people would be surprised. Again, if we get 60 votes, it becomes more durable,” said the Colorado senator.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters Tuesday that Democrats would debate filibuster reform next year if they remain in the majority and declined to say whether he personally supports carving out an exception for abortion rights legislation.

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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