WASHINGTON _ The Senate turned back legislation Monday to ban abortion after 20-weeks of pregnancy, halting a Republican-led effort to restrict access to the late-term procedure with a bill that President Donald Trump said he would sign into law.
The House had passed the measure last fall and Trump's endorsement this month gave it new momentum. But on a 51-46 Senate vote, it failed to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster to advance.
Voting in Congress largely fell along party lines. In the Senate, two Republicans, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, opposed the bill. Three Democrats, Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia voted in favor.
Polling shows the procedure is unpopular, and supporters argued that the U.S. should follow other countries that have banned it. Opponents, however, say it is used in rare occasions, and often in complex situations when the woman's life is endangered.
