Abortion Rights Must Be Codified In Law, Say AOC and Bernie Sanders

By Darragh Roche, Newsweek

Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have led calls for abortion rights to be protected through legislation following an apparent leak of a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn 1973’s Roe v. Wade.

Sanders, the independent senator for Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats, took to Twitter on Monday and called for Roe to be codify in federal law following the release of the draft by Politico, while Ocasio-Cortez was quick to make the same suggestion.

“Congress must pass legislation that codifies Roe v. Wade as the law of the land in this country NOW,” Sanders wrote. “And if there aren’t 60 votes in the Senate to do it, and there are not, we must end the filibuster to pass it with 50 votes.”

“People elected Democrats precisely so we could lead in perilous moments like these- to codify Roe, hold corruption accountable, & have a President who uses his legal authority to break through Congressional gridlock on items from student debt to climate,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.