Democrats’ effort to secure US abortion access in law blocked by Republicans

Abortion rights activist protests outside of the U.S. Supreme Court, Wednesday, May 11, 2022 in Washington. A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The Senate has fallen far short in a rushed effort to enshrine abortion access as federal law, blocked by a Republican filibuster in a blunt display of the nation’s partisan divide over the landmark court decision and the limits of legislative action.

The almost party-line tally promises to be the first of several efforts in Congress to preserve the nearly 50-year-old Roe vs Wade court ruling, which declares a constitutional right to abortion services but is at serious risk of being overturned this summer by a conservative Supreme Court.