The Democrats swept the 2020 election and gained control of the Senate. Their first move was to introduce what should have been a relatively uncontroversial ethics reform package as a test for McConnell and the GOP. When the Republicans blocked the bill, the Democratic leadership concluded that the filibuster had to go. Even the moderates agreed, and the filibuster died.
By 2028, the pendulum had swung back in the ordinary course of business, and the GOP was back in power. Roe having been overturned in 2022, the scene was set for a federal abortion ban. The only serious points of discussion during the hearings were penalties for the women seeking abortions and the scope of any health-related exceptions. Ultimately, the decision was made to perpetuate the politically convenient myth that women requesting abortions were victims, and to limit exceptions to the imminent risk of death for the mother. The bill was reminiscent of the law as it existed in Ireland prior to about 2015.
As in Ireland, the legislation was a disaster. Wealthy women simply went overseas for abortions. Poor women used homemade remedies; some died. Most doctors refused to perform abortions even to save the life of the mother for fear of prosecution. When stories of mothers dying unnecessarily started to pile up, the backlash against the GOP was intense. The law was amended substantially, and the GOP paid the price at the polls for years thereafter.