“I ask the Department of Justice, as they did in the age of civil rights, to do something, to do everything in their power to protect these women who seek to invoke their rights,” Biden told the White House.
He was joined by US Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in the Roosevelt Room while signing the order.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order to protect abortion rights in response to the historic Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade (Photo AP / Evan Vucci)
The president on Friday ridiculed the Supreme Court’s decision as “extreme” and “totally wrong,” and said, “What we are witnessing was not a constitutional ruling, it was an exercise in crude political power.”
The actions she described are aimed at mitigating some potential sanctions that women seeking abortion may face after sentencing, but have limited capacity to safeguard access to abortion nationwide.
Biden acknowledged the limitations his office faces, saying it would require an act of Congress to restore access to abortion in more than a dozen states where strict limits or bans have come into force. totals following the Supreme Court ruling.
About a dozen more states will impose additional restrictions in the coming weeks and months.
He was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in the Roosevelt Room while signing the order (AP Photo / Evan Vucci)
The president said the fastest way to restore abortion rights was for the American people to elect more members of Congress in the November midterm elections that will support federal legislation that protects access to abortion. abortion.
Biden said it was her “hope and her firm belief that women will, in fact, have a record number for claiming the rights the court has taken from them.”
“Let me be clear, although I wish I hadn’t gotten to this, this is the fastest route available,” Biden said.
There is no action the president can take to restore the right to abortion nationwide following the Supreme Court ruling. Biden has publicly acknowledged that his options for expanding access to abortion remain limited.
However, Democrats and advocates have been pushing the White House to take a firmer stance to codify access to abortion.
People are attending a protest for abortion rights at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. (AP)
Last month, Biden hinted that he was considering taking enforcement action, and told Jimmy Kimmel that while he believed Congress should codify Roe, “there are some executive orders he could employ, we think, we’re looking at it now. same “.
Friday’s executive order will prompt Becerra to take steps to ensure access to abortion, including FDA-approved drug abortion and expanded access “to the full range of reproductive health services,” according to a administration information sheet shared with CNN.
These services include “emergency contraception and reversible long-acting contraception such as intrauterine devices (IUDs),” the fact sheet says, citing birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
HHS is tasked with presenting a report to the president in the next 30 days on the implementation of the order’s provisions, which also include measures to increase outreach and protect the medical and digital privacy of patients seeking abortions. .
Protesters gathered in front of the State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday, June 24, 2022 in the evening before a protest. The Supreme Court on Friday withdrew women’s constitutional protections for abortion, a fundamental and deeply personal change for the lives of Americans after nearly half a century under Roe v. Wade. Courts are likely to overturn the historic court ruling leading to a ban on abortion in about half of the states. (Photo AP / Harm Venhuizen) (AP)
In addition, the order establishes an interagency working group between HHS and the White House Gender Policy Council, which includes Attorney General Merrick Garland, which the White House says will provide “technical assistance to states that offer legal protection for out-of-state patients “. as well as providers offering legal reproductive health care. “
Its executive order also directs agencies working to educate medical providers and insurers about how and when to share inside information from patients with authorities, an effort to protect women seeking or using abortion services.
It also calls on the Federal Trade Commission to take steps to protect the privacy of people seeking information on reproductive care online and to establish an inter-agency working group to coordinate federal efforts to safeguard access to abortion. .
Biden is also ordering its staff to convene volunteer lawyers to offer women and providers pro bono legal assistance to help them navigate the new state restrictions following the Supreme Court ruling.
The White House has rejected several progressive ideas to protect access to abortion, including allowing abortion providers to work from federal properties in states where the procedure is prohibited.
Protesters for abortion rights gather after Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the right to federally protected abortion in San Francisco City Council on Friday, June 24, 2022. The Supreme Court has put an end to constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place for almost 50 years, a decision by his Conservative majority to overturn the court’s historic abortion cases. (Photo AP / Josie Lepe) (AP)
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said using federal land for abortion services would have “dangerous ramifications.” The White House has also reiterated that the president does not support the expansion of the Supreme Court, as many progressives have claimed.
But Biden recently said he would support making an exception to the filibuster (the 60-vote threshold in the Senate needed to pass a majority of legislation) to codify abortion rights and the right to privacy through legislation passed by the Senate. Congress. The president had previously been reluctant to support changing Senate rules to pass his agenda.
Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, two lawmakers whose support the president would need, quickly voiced opposition to changing the obstruction rules, essentially blocking any plan to abandon them. rules.