Responding to a series of highly restrictive abortion laws aimed at overturning Roe v. Wade, several Democratic presidential candidates have called on Congress to codify abortion rights, signaling a newly aggressive approach in a debate whose terms have long been set by conservatives. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey was first out of the gate on Wednesday, telling BuzzFeed News that if elected president, he would pursue legislation to guarantee abortion rights nationwide, superseding state restrictions, even if the Supreme Court overturned Roe. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York promised the same on Thursday, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts came forward Friday morning with a more detailed plan. The three senators also called for repealing the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortions. The vast Democratic field has been essentially unanimous in condemning the near-total abortion ban Alabama lawmakers passed on Tuesday, which is part of a string of state efforts to compel the Supreme Court to re-examine Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to end a pregnancy.

Source: New York Times May 17, 2019 23:03 UTC