President Biden has said that he would back a change in Senate filibuster rules that would make it convenient to codify privacy rights, and also abortion rights.
The President has said the ruling was destabilizing and outrageous and has called for legislation on the issue after the Republican-controlled Supreme Court ruled to overturn the 50-year-old Roe v. Wade. He said that it should be overturned by Congress by turning the issue into law. He realizes that the filibuster should not be allowed to get in the way of codifying it.
He said that if the filibuster comes in the way there should be a mechanism to provide an exception in this case. He was speaking at a Madrid news session at the end of a 6-day European tour.
The filibuster rule stipulates that at least 60 votes are required in the Senate to pass legislation. A change in the filibuster rules would mean that the abortion law could change through a simple majority. The abortion law has been a constitutional right since 1973 till it was reversed last week by the Supreme Court.
Getting The Required Support For The Filibuster Rule Change Is Impossible At The Moment
But it will again need the support of the Senate to move ahead with the filibuster. And as of now, the Democrats do not have the required votes to push it through. A bill that could have enshrined the Roe v. Wade ruling into law failed as it got defeated by 49-51 votes last may.
Mitch McConnell, the minority leader in the Senate hit out at the President’s remark and called his comments about the ruling by the court inappropriate.
McConnell said that it was beneath the President to attack the SCOTUS on a world stage. He also said that the attacks that the president has made on the Supreme Court were dangerous and did not have any merit. He said that the president was upset as the court maintained that the people would have the final say on the abortion policy through their representatives.
