By Nancy Keenan at Huffington Post
It was a late night last night for the U.S. Senate. In the past, when anti-choice politicians controlled the process, that would have meant something dreadful would have happened to women’s freedom and privacy.
Previous Congresses were famous for votes at 3 a.m., hoping their shenanigans would go unreported and slip under the public’s radar screen.
But, pro-choice Americans, I am pleased to report different news: Last night, the Senate rejected two anti-choice amendments, but the razor-thin margin by which we won these votes is a reminder of why elections matters.
To what amendments am I referring?
Well, you can depend on anti-choice politicians to lack creativity and imagination, and last night was no exception.
In a blatant attempt to entangle the budget resolution in anti-abortion politics, Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) offered an amendment intended to codify a controversial Bush administration regulation, put in place in 2002, which allows states to make an embryo or a fetus — but not a pregnant woman — eligible for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The amendment failed 46-52. Last year, a coalition of pro-choice and pro-life senators defeated a similar Allard proposal — but last night we picked up a few new senators. The tide is moving in the right direction! More…
The roll call of the Boxer Amendment that extends coverage to pregnant women through SCHIP can be found here.
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This particular vote shows indeed that elections matter. It shows that we have to bury differences and makes sure that the White House and Congress are populated with Democrats who can get the message across and are not afraid to cast a vote.