Biden calls for filibuster carveout to protect abortion rights
by Brett Samuels - 06/30/22 9:31 AM ET
President Biden on Thursday said the Senate should carve out an exception to the 60-vote filibuster to codify abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned the precedent set by Roe v. Wade.
“The most important thing to be clear about is I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law, and the way to do that is to make sure the Congress votes to do that,” Biden said at a press conference at the NATO summit in Spain.
“And if the filibuster gets in the way, it’s like voting rights, it should be we provide an exception for this, requiring an exception to the filibuster for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision,” Biden added.
A change to the filibuster, which requires 60 votes in the Senate for most legislation to pass, would make it so that abortion rights or broader privacy rights like access to contraception and the right to same-sex marriage could be codified into law with a simple majority.
Democrats have sounded the alarm that striking down Roe could be the first in a series of court decisions rolling back precedents that protected access to contraception and same-sex marriage after Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a concurring opinion that those precedents should be revisited.
Democrats hold the Senate majority with 50 senators, plus Vice President Harris acting as a tie-breaking vote.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3542471-biden-calls-for-filibuster-carveout-to-protect-abortion-rights/
