Protect abortion in law

With the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority apparently poised to revoke abortion rights that have been the law of the land for a half-century, Democrats are looking to enshrine that right in law.

It is absolutely the right thing to do. And they should not be deterred by those who say it’s dead on arrival.

This is no mere political litmus test as decisive elections loom this fall in both the House and Senate. It’s an opportunity for those representatives and senators who support a woman’s right to control her body and her reproductive health — on both sides of the aisle — to show that compromise is still possible. And to send a message to justices who used deceit to get their jobs.

We know how polarized Congress is. We saw how elusive compromise can be in the failed fight over so vital an issue as voting rights. The failure to find common ground has left the nation to watch one Republicandominated state legislature after another undercut the right to vote, particularly for minorities, in an effort to secure control not just of their own states but the federal government, too.

Now comes a threat from conservatives on the high court to revoke the constitutional right to an abortion first recognized in Roe v. Wade in 1973. If the court rules as laid out in a leaked draft, it would be left to states to decide whether to allow, ban, or limit abortions. In response, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer says he intends to force a national abortion rights bill to a vote on Wednesday.

We urge him to reach across the aisle to appeal to the two known pro-choice Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. It might be possible to fashion a bill that addresses their concerns, and to assemble a bipartisan coalition willing to suspend the filibuster. It’s an imperfect solution, and a huge reach. But it would certainly be better than the alternative of having as many as half the states ban abortion altogether or make it all but inaccessible.

Would it be a big political risk, especially for Ms. Murkowski and Ms. Collins? Yes, but it would also represent perhaps the greatest chance in their political careers to do the most good for the most people by voting for something they believe in.

And it would strike a blow for more honesty in politics, including the politics of Supreme Court confirmations. Ms. Murkowski and Ms. Collins — and every other senator with any respect for their chamber and the integrity of so vital an institution as the Supreme Court — should be gravely concerned that former President Donald Trump’s nominees to one degree or another gave what clearly were prevaricating answers on abortion rights. Congress should send a message that even in today’s polarized, bare-knuckle political environment, deceit is an intolerable tactic for a Supreme Court nominee. and, ultimately, an unfruitful and counterproductive one.