Senate rejects bill banning abortion after 20 weeks

The Senate on Monday defeated a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The result was expected because it would have needed to clear a 60-vote hurdle, and even with all 51 Republicans in support, the number of votes would have fallen short. But anti-abortion groups aimed to get senators on the record regarding the issue ahead of the midterm elections. They pressed for a vote close to the Jan. 19 March for Life rally, which protests the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion legal nationwide. The bill would have made it a crime for doctors to perform abortions after 20 weeks of gestation. Under the bill, those who break the law would face a fine, up to five years in prison, or both.