As the Supreme Court struck down its Roe v. Wade decision in its ruling Friday in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) unveiled a corresponding legislative proposal he said would support mothers and babies.
“Today’s decision was a victory for the unborn and mothers in America. But our work is not done,” Rubio told the Washington Examiner in a statement. “Washington can and must do more for mothers, babies and young children. My plan will lay the groundwork for this support and empower communities to better serve families across the country.”
In its ruling in Dobbs, a case concerning a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks, the court struck down Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which legalized abortion nationwide. In the new ruling, the court found that there is no constitutional right to an abortion. The ruling makes the legality of abortion a matter for individual states, meaning abortion will be legal or illegal under state rather than federal law.
A framework for Rubio’s Providing for Life Act, released Friday by his office, says the bill would combine previous proposals he has advocated, including making the adoption tax credit fully refundable, further expanding the child tax credit, including making it available for parents of an unborn child, as well as his New Parents Act, a proposed bill he introduced with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) that would allow new parents, including adoptive parents, to use up to three months of their Social Security benefits to finance paid parental leave.
The legislation would also expand Child Support Enforcement programs, including encouraging states to require a biological father to pay at least half of a mother’s “reasonable medical costs incurred during pregnancy,” including health insurance premiums.
WEX Dobbs Ruling (Anti-Abortion Rights) – 062422
Additional funding would also be provided for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, including doubling the postpartum benefit eligibility period from one to two years and adjusting cash-value voucher benefits for rising inflation.
The bill would also reform or implement grants to expand the inclusion of faith-based organizations to participate in federal social services and create a program to fund mentoring services for low-income mothers varying from mental health support to coaching on nutrition or financial literacy.
The bill also calls for the creation of a federal portal detailing state and federal resources for women facing unplanned pregnancies, compiling in one place services available to them both during and after pregnancy.
The proposed bill comes as members of Congress drew battle lines over the issue of abortion as the ruling came down Friday. Republicans largely praised the decision, while Democrats condemned it.
It was not immediately clear what, if any, legislative response may follow from Congress in the wake of the ruling. Despite Democratic control of the three branches of government, their razor-thin majority in the Senate left Democratic leadership unable to pass a sweeping abortion rights bill earlier this year that was unable to reach the upper chamber’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) have long expressed opposition to removing the filibuster, but Friday’s ruling will likely increase political pressure on them to reverse course, though they have resisted such entreaties from the left flank of their party to do so in the past.
Earlier Friday, immediately following the Dobbs decision, Rubio said the court’s ruling “to allow states to regulate abortion was right constitutionally and morally.”
“For nearly half a century, a nation founded on God-given rights denied those rights to its most vulnerable citizens and more than 63 million Americans never got the chance to pursue their dreams,” Rubio said in a statement. “But we must not only continue to take steps to protect the unborn, we must also do more to support mothers and their babies. I will soon introduce a bill to ensure we do everything we can to give every child the opportunity to fully access the promise of America.”
