WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved a pair of bills Friday to protect women who have an abortion.
One of the bills would restore abortion access nationwide. The other bill prohibits punishment for a woman or child who decides to travel to another state to get an abortion.
This was the Democrats' first legislative response to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"The message from House Democrats and our groups here today is we are not going back," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on the steps of the Capitol.
The House bills have little chance of becoming law. With the Senate evenly split among Republicans and Democrats, there are likely not enough votes to bypass the filibuster.
More than a dozen states have implemented restrictive abortion laws following the Supreme Court's ruling.
