WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The House passed legislation Friday that would guarantee a woman\u2019s right to an abortion, an effort by Democrats to circumvent a new Texas law that has placed that access under threat.<\/b>
\nThe House passed legislation Friday that would guarantee a woman\u2019s right to an abortion, an effort by Democrats to circumvent a new Texas law that has placed that access under threat. The bill\u2019s 218-211 approval is mostly symbolic, as Republican opposition will doom it in the Senate. Still, Democrats say they are doing all they can to codify the Supreme Court\u2019s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision after the Supreme Court recently allowed the Texas law banning most abortions in the state to take effect. The court will hear arguments in December in a separate Mississippi bid to overturn the landmark decision. Despite the long odds in his chamber, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement after the vote that \u201cCongress must assert its role to protect the constitutional right to abortion\u201d and that the Senate would hold a vote \u201cin the very near future.\u201d Codifying the Roe ruling would mean creating a right to abortion in federal law, a monumental change that would make it harder for courts and states to impose restrictions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that congressional action would make a \u201ctremendous difference\u201d in Democrats\u2019 efforts to maintain access to abortion rights. She called the Supreme Court\u2019s decision \u201cshameful\u201d and counter to its own precedent. Pelosi said just ahead of Friday\u2019s vote that it should \u201csend a very positive message to the women of our country \u2014 but not just the women, to the women and their families, to everyone who values freedom, honors our Constitution and respects women.\u201d No Republicans voted for the legislation, which would supersede state laws on the subject, give health care providers the right to perform abortions and patients the right to receive them. Republicans argue it would prevent states from setting requirements like parental involvement and could weaken laws that allow doctors to refuse to perform an abortion. The legislation \u201cisn\u2019t about freedom for women, it\u2019s about death for babies,\u201d said Republican Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri. She said it would eliminate protections for women and girls who may be coerced into having abortions. \u201cIt ends the life of a living human being with a plan and a purpose from God and who deserves to live,\u201d Hartzler said. Only one member crossed party lines \u2014 Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, who voted against the bill.<\/p>\n