Republicans blocked debate on a bill expressing support for the right to an abortion, amid a push by Democrats to put the GOP on defense over reproductive rights ahead of the November elections.   

The bill needed 60 votes to move forward, meaning nine Republicans would have needed to break ranks and vote with Democrats.   

The legislation was a “sense of Congress” bill that called for supporting access to abortion as well as restoring and building upon the protections enshrined in Roe v. Wade. It was sponsored by all the Democratic women in the Senate, as well as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).  

“This is a plain, up-or-down vote on whether you support women being able to make their own reproductive health care decisions. It doesn’t force anything, it doesn’t cost anything, it’s actually just a half-page bill simply saying women should have the basic freedom to make their own decisions about their health care,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.    

Democrats want to distinguish themselves from Republicans and put the GOP on the record opposing abortion rights, especially as the latter struggles with how to message its stance on reproductive rights in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

The vote came on the same day House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee cleared a funding bill for the Department of Health and Human Services that contained numerous anti-abortion provisions.  

But Republicans dismissed Wednesday’s action as an election year show vote and a distraction, as Democrats deal with mounting concerns over President Biden’s fitness as a candidate and whether he should remain at the top of the party’s ticket in November.