Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) joined Senate Republicans on Monday to block a House-passed bill that would have codified Roe v. Wade. The “Women’s Health Protection Act” (WHPA) was shot down in a 46-48 vote, failing to meet the 60-vote threshold required to end debate on a measure and send it to a simple majority floor vote. The WHPA would have “protect[ed] a person’s ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider’s ability to provide abortion services.” Democrats pushed for the measure in response to a Texas law which prescribes penalties for doctors who abort an infant with a detectable heartbeat. The Texas bill, in contrast to many similar “heartbeat bills” passed in red legislatures across the United States, functions using civil rather than criminal penalties. Individual citizens can sue doctors who perform an abortion after the infant’s heart has begun to …