Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Newsmax Wednesday that he and his GOP colleagues in the Senate are “dug in” opposing attempts by Democratic legislators to codify the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing abortions nationwide, before the current version of the court reverses the 50-year-old precedent.
“There's not 60 votes to be able to move this and we're very dug in on this and should be dug in on it,” Lankford said during “Spicer & Co.” Wednesday following a failed vote in the Senate to codify the protection of abortion nationwide. “I don't think history is going to speak well for those that called children ‘disposable’ and said, ‘I'm just going to take this one out. I'll make another one later.’ I think that flippant attitude about the value of every single child is exactly the wrong attitude to be able to have about children the days ahead.”
The House already passed the bill, known as the Women’s Health Protection Act in September 2021, well before the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a Mississippi case that now threatens to upend Roe and a similar 1992 case that affirmed abortion as a constitutional right.
Politico reported May 3 that a leaked draft majority opinion of the court, written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, will overrule Roe and send the issue back to the states to decide.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Politico reported Alito writing in the document, labeled as the “Opinion of the Court.” “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the document, but said the decision is not yet final and could change by the time the court announces it.
Senate Democrats, however, could not muster the 60 votes needed to move the bill forward in that chamber, causing it to fail 49-51.
All Republicans voted against the measure with lone Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., NPR reported.
Lankford said that rather than allowing abortions, Republicans are working to reinforce families and local communities to come together to support mothers during pregnancy and afterward, to ensure every child can have a chance in this country.
“We want to facilitate churches and nonprofits helping families, families helping families,” Lankford said. “That's the best safety net. Then also coming alongside the tax credits in other ways to be able help those families.”
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