“This is no horror imagined, it’s already happening. Last week it was reported that a 10-year-old girl was raped in Ohio. 10 years! And she was forced to travel out of state to Indiana to try to terminate the pregnancy and maybe save her life … Does anyone think a 10-year-old girl should be forced to give birth to a rapist’s child? ”
The executive order comes after days of growing frustration among Democrats and election advocates that the White House has not done enough to mitigate the consequences of the court ruling, despite knowing as early as May – when it leaked a draft to Politico- that Roe v It was probable that Wade was overturned.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision on abortion has had ramifications around the world, including Melbourne, where thousands of people marched in solidarity last week. Credit: Chris Hopkins
So far, much of Biden’s response has focused on urging Congress to codify abortion rights, even if that means changing the so-called filibuster rules of the Senate, even though Democrats don’t have the numbers to do so.
He has also urged voters to run for the November midterm elections to elect more pro-election politicians and expand the Democratic majority in Congress, which will codify abortion rights in the future. .
Biden has reiterated that call today, saying, “I don’t think the court, or why the Republicans who have pushed this extreme agenda for decades, have an idea of the power of American women, but they are about to find out.in my point of view.
“It is my hope and my firm belief that, in fact, women will participate in a record number to claim the rights that the court has taken from them.”
But progressive Democrats, advocates, and state governors have asked Biden for more things, such as using federal land to set up abortion clinics or declaring a public health emergency to protect women in need of care. So far, the White House has been reluctant to do so, arguing that such moves could lead to too many legal complications or be challenged in court by opposing states.
Frustrations will spread in Washington on Saturday (U.S. time) when election advocates march to the White House to demand that the administration do more. Similar rallies will take place over the weekend in the United States, even in states like Texas, Colorado, New York and Ohio.
“We handed over her seats, we offered a Democratic convention, we handed over a Democratic presidency,” Women’s March managing director Tamika Middleton said earlier this week. “So we’re telling them in clear terms that we expect them to do what we chose for them.”
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The historic 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling enshrined the option for women to have an abortion as a constitutional right, but its demise has allowed anti-abortion states such as Oklahoma, Alabama and South Dakota to initiate “activating laws” that will ban abortions. in almost all cases. circumstance.
Mississippi became the last state this week to invoke its trigger laws Thursday, forcing the closure of the abortion clinic at the center of the Supreme Court’s decision: the Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The clinic, known locally as the Pink House, was the only abortion clinic in Mississippi, the poorest state in America, and its closure means women in need of health care will now have to travel thousands of miles to find a state where abortion is legal. Some will not have the means to do so, which could lead to unsafe attempts to terminate the pregnancy or unwanted pregnancies.
Biden said the court’s decision would also have more implications beyond access to health care, potentially eroding “the right to privacy in general, marital equality and contraception.”
“It’s at much more risk,” he said. “We cannot allow an out-of-control Supreme Court to work in conjunction with extremist elements of the Republican Party to take liberties and our personal autonomy.”
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