Nicholas Goldberg: If Roe vs. Wade is overturned, Congress could protect abortion rights. At least in theory (via latimesopinion)
, 59% of American voters believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases and only 39% believe it should be illegal.The House, in fact, has already passed the Women’s Health Protection Act, which is in some ways even stronger than Roe vs. Wade.
And there’s virtually no chance that the Women’s Health Protection Act or any pro-choice variant will have that level of support.The Democrats were once the party of ideals and optimism. But in the era of COVID and climate change, the message has turned dark. “This is one more time when we see the filibuster blocking the will of the majority,“ Sen. Elizabeth Warren last week. She noted that the Women’s Health Protection Act “is something we ought to be able to bring to the floor of the United States Senate and vote on it.”
“If the court overturns Roe v. Wade, the floodgates will open and there’ll be a different political calculus on the filibuster than there is right now,” Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told me.I’m also enough of a realist to know that the elimination or modification of the filibuster would be a mixed blessing for Democrats. It might help in the short term — and could propel the Women’s Health Protection Act to passage, which would be a very good thing.