Democrats push doomed bid for federal abortion law

The US Senate is due to vote on a bill to make the right to abortion a federal law as the nation’s top court is poised to curtail it.

The move is seen as a doomed bid to counter the expected Supreme Court ruling that abortions can be banned.

The Democrat-led House of Representatives passed the bill, but it faces uncertainty in the 50-50 Senate.

Votes will be closely watched as abortion emerges as a flashpoint ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

“The American people will see where every single US Senator stands,” said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Wednesday’s vote comes as the Supreme Court’s nine justices are due to meet for the first time since a draft ruling on abortion rights was leaked last week.

The document suggested the court will overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that granted women a constitutional right to abortion.

The leaked document, in which conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote that Roe was “egregiously wrong”, incited a political earthquake and demonstrations – either in protest or celebration – on both sides of the abortion debate.

The draft opinion would not result in a nationwide ban on the procedure, but would allow states to bar abortion outright.

The bill before the Senate, called the Women’s Health Protection Act, goes beyond simply making Roe v Wade a law. It would also bar states from enacting restrictions deemed “medically unnecessary”, such as mandatory waiting periods and regulations on abortion clinics.

All Republicans and one Democrat have opposed it in the evenly divided Senate, where ties are broken by a vote from the vice-president.

A similar bill failed in February.

However, putting it up for a vote forces senators to go on the record on abortion – a political manoeuvre Democrats hope can place pressure on Republicans ahead of elections in November.

Polls suggest most Americans support at least some access to the procedure.

Two Republican senators – Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – who have said they support some access to abortion are under particular scrutiny, and Ms Murkowski is facing re-election in November. They have said they will not support the bill.