After utilizing this procedural move to try and advance gun safety legislation and unilaterally raise the country’s debt limit, House Democrats are once again hoping to use what’s known as a discharge petition to bypass Republicans in the majority and force a vote on abortion rights legislation.

What You Need To Know

  • House Democrats this week filed a discharge petition to try and bypass Republicans in the majority and force a vote on abortion rights legislation

  • Democratic leadership and members of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus gathered Friday, the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, to highlight the discharge petition effort

  • House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that 210 Democrats have already signed the discharge petition, meaning that they need 8 more Republicans to cross party lines to force a vote on the measure

  • As leading Republican candidates struggle with their messaging on the issue, polling has indicated that most Americans oppose abortion restrictions

House Democratic leadership and members of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus gathered on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health – the case that overturned the nearly 50-year precedent set in Roe v. Wade – to announce their efforts to advance the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill that would restore the protections guaranteed by Roe.

“Under the leadership of Speaker Emerita [Nancy] Pelosi, House Democrats passed the Women’s Health Protection Act not once but twice,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Friday in a room at the Capitol named for the longtime Democratic leader.

Jeffries called the Dobbs ruling “one of the most egregious and offensive decisions that the Supreme Court has ever rendered,” charging that while other decisions issued by the high court have “enhanced freedom,” last year’s landmark decision “restricted and limited and undermined freedom for women all across America.”

The New York Democrat said that 210 Democrats have already signed the discharge petition, filed by Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette and California Reps. Barbara Lee and Judy Chu, meaning that they need 8 more Republicans to cross party lines to force a vote on the measure.

“That means we have to have 8 Republicans join us in order to protect abortion rights for all,” Chu, who introduced the bill in the House in March, said Friday. “It’s just 8 Republicans that stand between us and bringing back abortion rights for all in this country.”

“Today we have one message: House Democrats are in this fight until everyone who wants an abortion can get it, regardless of race … what zip code they live in, or how much money they make,” she added. “We will not back down.”

“We’re only 8 members short to bring this enlightened, important piece of legislation to the floor of the House of Representatives,” Jeffries said. “And we’re committed to making sure that we do everything necessary for that to happen.”

It’s unclear which House GOP lawmakers, if any, will sign on to Democrats’ petition. Spectrum News reached out to California Rep. John Duarte, a self-described “moderate about abortion,” to see if he will join the effort.

California GOP Rep. Mike Garcia, who does not support abortion protections, told Spectrum News on Friday he doesn't believe that members of his party will join Democrats' discharge petition.

Even if 8 Republicans supported the discharge petition, the bill would still face an uphill battle in the Senate, where Democrats hold a one-vote majority. But Democrats would no doubt relish the opportunity to put their opposition on the record on abortion rights with the 2024 election on the horizon.

As leading Republican candidates struggle with their messaging on the issue, polling has indicated that most Americans oppose abortion restrictions.

A poll published Wednesday by NPR, “PBS NewsHour” and Marist College found that 57% of Americans oppose the court’s decision to strike down Roe while 40% support it. A Gallup poll last week found that a record-high 69% of Americans say abortion should generally be legal in the first trimester of pregnancy. 

According to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll, one in four Americans say state efforts to restrict abortion access have made them more supportive of abortion rights. And a poll from NBC News released Friday shows that six in 10 voters are opposed to the Dobbs ruling, including nearly 80% of female voters 18-49, two-thirds of suburban women and 60% of independent voters.

Speaking at Friday’s event, Pelosi – who House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., introduced as a “champion of reproductive freedom” – thanked her successor for making the bill one of the top priorities of Democratic leadership.

“Understand this: this is not just about abortion, though that would be reason enough,” Pelosi said. “This is about total respect for women exercising their free will to honor their responsibilities to meet their health needs.”