WASHINGTON – While Democrats and reproductive rights advocates demanded that President Biden strongly oppose the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, his health secretary, Xavier Becerra, climbed onto a lectern here Tuesday to list the steps his department would take to preserve it. and expanding access to abortion.
The list, for now, anyway, is short.
“There’s no magic bullet,” Mr. Calf at a morning press conference, “but if there’s anything we can do, we’ll find it and do it.”
Friday’s Supreme Court decision to remove the constitutional right to abortion was not unexpected, but neither the White House nor Mr. Becerra had immediate political answers ready. Administration officials say they are still struggling with the prospect that a major area of women’s health care will suddenly become illegal in about half of the country and will need time to resolve their options.
However, Mr Biden is under intense political pressure to act, and after his press conference some advocates accused Mr Becerra of looking lukewarm. Some Democrats, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have been pressuring the Biden administration to explore the possibility of building abortion clinics on federal land and paying for out-of-state people there. travel for the procedure.
These were not among the measures announced by Mr. Becerra. Instead, he said, under Mr. Biden’s direction, he had ordered his agency to take steps such as making sure federal insurance programs cover abortion with drugs in cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s life is at risk. Although the Hyde amendment prohibits taxpayer funding for abortion, it does include exceptions for these three cases.
“We can’t find land burned with milquetoast,” said Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute of Reproductive Health, a advocacy organization. “I’m not asking for scorched earth, but I’m saying you have to be willing to stop drawing inside the lines. You have to be willing to take some risks.”
In addition to establishing abortion clinics on federal lands, Ms. Miller said the administration should figure out ways to support abortion clinics that are about to close, perhaps reusing them in logistics centers to help women who need to cross state borders. Approximately half of the states are expected to allow prohibitions or other limits on the procedure to take effect after sentencing, or have already done so.
Ms Miller acknowledged that the administration has limitations and said she sympathized with Biden officials. But the nation is in crisis, he said, adding, “Why not push the envelope?”
Mr. Becerra said her agency will work with the Justice Department to ensure women have access to abortion pills – a pair of two different drugs, which are taken between 24 and 48 hours and are authorized during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. pregnancies — in places where state law conflicts with the Food and Drug Administration ruling, which has approved their use and determined that they are safe and effective.
The secretary did not go into details. But in December, the FDA approved a regulation that allowed abortion pills to be prescribed during telemedicine visits and distributed by mail. Some advocates also want the FDA to declare that its regulations take precedence over state laws prohibiting abortion, a measure the Justice Department might have to defend in court.
De Opinion: The End of Roe v. Wade
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It will also require hospital emergency rooms to comply with a federal law that requires stabilization of patients undergoing a medical emergency, including performing abortions, if necessary. And the agency will take steps to ensure that patient records are private, to prevent state or local officials from identifying women who have had abortions.
On sounding a cautionary note on what the administration can and cannot do, Mr. Becerra said there were still complex legal issues that needed to be resolved to ensure he did not violate the court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
“It was a long decision and it changed 50 years of precedent, and so you want to make sure that what you do is within the limits of the law,” Mr. Becerra. “We’re not interested in being naughty.”
He called the sentence “minorable” and at one point said he wanted to offer “my apologies” because the administration can’t do more.
The administration has studied, but is skeptical, the idea of allowing abortion clinics in federal enclaves such as military bases and national parks, where state prosecutors have no jurisdiction, in states where abortion is now or will be a crime. .
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre rejected the idea on Tuesday and told reporters aboard Air Force One it could have “dangerous ramifications” for women and doctors.
The problem, according to officials familiar with internal deliberations, is that the federal government could not ensure that non-federal physicians who perform official duties, and potentially patients, were not at risk of being prosecuted.
This is because the Department of Justice has the authority to prosecute certain state crimes. If a Republican won the presidency in 2024, his Justice Department could charge people with abortion-related crimes from 2022, because the statute of limitations would not have expired. States could strip doctors of their medical licenses. And state prosecutors could try to accuse people of related behaviors that occurred outside the enclave, such as helping women get there, under a theory of help or conspiracy.
Offering financial aid to women to cross state borders and get an abortion could also be problematic for the administration, as it could violate the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.
When asked on Tuesday if the Department of Health and Human Services could offer such financial aid, Mr. Becerra said that once officials know “exactly what we think we can do and have the money to do, we will let you know. He added: “But until then, what I could just tell you is that all the options are on the table.”
Following Friday’s ruling, members of Mr Biden’s own party have become increasingly vocal in demanding that he act. On Saturday, more than 30 Democratic Senate members sent him a letter telling him “there was no time to lose” and pressuring him to use “federal government force” to protect access to health care. ‘abortion.
“Now is the time for bold action to protect the right to abortion,” they wrote, adding, “You have the power to fight and lead a national response to this devastating decision.”
One area where the administration can act is to ensure that women have access to emergency contraception, including so-called morning-after pills, such as Plan B, and intrauterine devices. Both are common contraceptive methods, but opponents of abortion consider them “abortionists” and have tried in some states to restrict access to them.
Some state family planning clinics that ban abortion say their Plan B supplies are running low, because women, for fear the pills will be illegal, are running out. Hailey Kramer, a nurse practicing for Tri-Rivers Family Planning in Rolla, Missouri, said Monday that the clinic’s provider is struggling with growing demand and that pills have been ordered late since a draft was leaked. ‘opinion that Roe overturned last month. .
Missouri is one of 13 states that had “activating” laws banning abortion after Roe was overturned; Mr. Becerra was visiting a Planned Parenthood clinic in the state when abortion suddenly became illegal there. Missouri is also one of four states that has excluded Planned Parenthood, a major birth control provider, from Medicaid family planning programs that reimburse those services.
Planned Parenthood has said the measure violates federal law. Mr. Becerra said Tuesday that he had ordered the Medicaid and Medicare Service Centers to “make it clear that family planning providers can participate in the Medicaid program.”