Women Health Protection Act blocked by Senate filibuster, fails 49-51

Just days after the Dobbs draft opinion leaked, Senate Democrats hold a procedural vote on the Women's Health Protection Act, legislation that would codify a national right to abortion going beyond what Roe v. Wade protected. The bill fails 49-51, with all 50 Republicans voting to filibuster and Senator Joe Manchin also voting no. Biden calls the vote "an inflection point." Democrats note that 70% of Americans support keeping abortion legal in most or all cases. The vote demonstrates the impossibility of federal abortion legislation without filibuster reform and sets up Dobbs as a galvanizing issue for the 2022 midterms.