Democrats in the United States Senate did not get enough votes on Wednesday to move forward with a bill aimed at protecting abortion at the federal level, a right that the Supreme Court seems destined to eliminate in the coming weeks.
The initiative foundered on a key vote, as Democrats they did not obtain the 60 necessary supports so that it began to be debated in the Senate.
With US Vice President Kamala Harris presiding over the session, the 50 Republicans voted en bloc against, while the Democrats one by one voted in favor while shouting: “aye!” (Yes).
The only Democrat who broke ranks with his party was Joe Manchin, the last to vote and who left the scoreboard at 49 votes in favor and 51 against.
The vote took place in a climate of high tension after last week the Politico media published a draft of a ruling by the US Supreme Court which points to the revocation of the right to abortion that this court enshrined in the historic ruling “Roe v. Wade” in 1973.
The leak put Democrats on the defensive since the repeal of “Roe v. Wade” would allow Republicans to restrict and even eliminate that right by passing laws in state parliaments.
“Today’s vote is one of the most important that we will celebrate in decades,” said the leader of the Democrats in the Upper House, Chuck Schumer, before the vote.
Currently, the Senate is divided in half with 50 seats for the Republicans and 50 for the Democrats, who hold the majority thanks to the tiebreaker vote Harris, who serves as speaker of the chamber.