US House passes bill to secure abortion rights for women

Legislative drive to codify precedent of Roe v Wade gains momentum in Congress but still faces Republican opposition.

The United States House of Representatives on Friday approved a proposed law that would guarantee women’s right to an abortion throughout the United States.

The bill, which would override new laws in Texas and other Republican-led states restricting abortions, passed the House by a vote of 218-211 but faces opposition from Republicans in the US Senate.

For decades, women in the US have had access to abortion services under a 1973 landmark US Supreme Court ruling in the case of Roe v Wade. But the judicial precedent is under attack and potentially at risk of being overturned by a new conservative majority on the court.