By the Associated Press and KFDI News

The Senate has failed in an effort toward enshrining Roe v. Wade abortion access into federal law.

Wednesday’s 51-49 negative vote almost along party lines provided a stark display of the nation’s partisan divide over the landmark court decision and the limits of legislative action. The afternoon roll call promised to be the first of several efforts in Congress to preserve the nearly 50-year-old court ruling.

President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass legislation that would guarantee the constitutional right to abortion services after the disclosure of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. But Democrats in the split Senate lacked the votes to overcome a Republican-led filibuster.

Kansas Senator Roger Marshall issued a statement saying he voted against the bill because it was an attack on the lives of unborn children and the health of moms.   He said “While the overturning of Roe vs Wade simply returns this emotional issue to the states, to the elected voice of the people, this bill would invalidate any and all state laws that protect the unborn child and the health and well-being of the mom.”

Kansas Senator Jerry Moran also voted against the bill and said later in a statement: “This legislation would have permitted unborn children to be terminated at any point for any reason. Additionally, this legislation would have eliminated conscience protections for health care providers who object to terminating human life and abolished state laws, such as waiting periods or requiring parental consent for minors to obtain an abortion. Not only is this legislation immoral, it is far outside the mainstream of American opinion and would have placed the United States alongside China and North Korea as outliers with the world’s most permissive abortion laws.”