Sanders, 'Squad' members call for ending filibuster to pass abortion legislation

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Shannon Bream on leaked SCOTUS opinion in abortion case

'Fox News @ Night' anchor Shannon Bream on what the Supreme Court draft opinion leak could mean for abortion in the United States.

A leaked draft opinion indicating that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade has left-wing lawmakers calling for Congress to take drastic action to ensure that abortion remains legal throughout the United States.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and members of the group of left-wing congresswomen known as the "Squad" are urging their colleagues to pass a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade and reestablish a federal right to abortion. Since Democrats have a slim majority, some of them state that they must abolish the filibuster to make sure such a bill can go through.

SUPREME COURT SET TO OVERTURN ROE V. WADE, LEAKED DRAFT OPINION SHOWS: REPORT

"Congress must pass legislation that codifies Roe v. Wade as the law of the land in this country NOW. And if there aren’t 60 votes in the Senate to do it, and there are not, we must end the filibuster to pass it with 50 votes," Sanders tweeted Monday night.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., listens as Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Minn., speaks during a news conference about Islamophobia on Capitol Hill on Nov. 30, 2021 in Washington.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., cited the court's possible decision as a reason to pack the Supreme Court with liberal justices. She too then said Congress needs to "abolish the filibuster and pass the Women's Health Protection Act to codify Roe v. Wade into law."

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Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said that overturning Roe v. Wade "will endanger the very people who need access to legal abortion," and that "[t]he Senate must pass the House legislation to codify Roe," including the hashtags #AbolishTheFilibuster, and #ExpandSCOTUS. 

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Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., expressed the same ideas Tuesday morning.

"Abolish the filibuster. Codify Roe. Expand the Supreme Court. Protect abortion rights by any means necessary. We need all of the above. This is an emergency," she tweeted.

Fellow Squad members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., also tweeted in support of abortion legislation, but did not mention the filibuster.

"Abortion care is a fundamental human right and we must legislate like it," Pressley said.

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"People elected Democrats precisely so we could lead in perilous moments like these- to codify Roe, hold corruption accountable, & have a President who uses his legal authority to break through Congressional gridlock on items from student debt to climate," said Ocasio-Cortez. "It's high time we do it."

If the Supreme Court does overturn Roe v. Wade as is now expected, abortion will no longer be considered a constitutional right. While this would not in itself make abortion illegal, it would allow individual states to ban the practice through legislation.