The Senate will likely vote next week on a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, an effort that could be stalled due to a filibuster by Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moved on Wednesday to start debate on a Senate bill to pass the Pain-Capable Childhood Protection Act, which would ban abortions after 20 weeks. The House passed its own version last year.
After debate on the bill is completed, the Senate will take a vote, likely some time next week. However, it will require 60 votes to stop a Democratic filibuster.
The last time the Senate took up a 20-week abortion ban was in 2015, when three Democratic senators joined Republicans to approve it. However, the motion still failed by a 54-42 vote.
Supporters are expected to get some Democratic backing, but it may not be enough to reach the 60-vote threshold.
The decision by McConnell comes less than a week after the March for Life, a major gathering on the Mall in Washington, D.C., of anti-abortion activists. Five Republican senators wrote to the majority leader last week asking him to bring the bill up for a vote.
"Twenty states have already passed legislation protecting unborn children beginning at 20 weeks of pregnancy," the letter said. "A vote would make our constituents immediately aware of the members of Congress who support elective late-term abortions and oppose extending legal protections to pain-capable unborn children nationwide."
