The Biden administration reacts amid intensified Republican-led efforts to legislate and implement a nationwide abortion ban within 15 weeks of the Supreme Court’s historic decision to repeal Roe v. rights.
After the Supreme Court overturned the historic women’s reproductive health bill and upheld the Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks, some House Republicans who oppose the rights to ‘abortion are pushing legislation to implement a nationwide abortion ban in 15 weeks.
This legislation does not currently have the 60 votes needed to overcome an obstruction in the Senate, but the push for this ban is a remarkable effort as Republicans have a great chance of regaining control of the House in the middle of the legislature. ‘this year. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Friday voiced support for the idea, and former Vice President Mike Pence congratulated the court in a statement and also voiced support for enacting a 15-week ban on the whole country.
White House Gender Policy Council Director Jen Klein criticized those efforts on Monday.
Jen Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council. (Images by Ron Sachs / CNP / Bloomberg / Getty)
“Vice President Pence and Republican leader McCarthy have already announced their support for the national abortion ban, passed by Congress. No woman in any state, no matter how favorable the election of that state, would be entitled abortion would be illegal everywhere.The ultra-MAGA agenda on election has never been about the rights of “states.” It has always been about removing women’s rights. in every state, ”Klein said in a statement provided exclusively to CNN.
When President Joe Biden and other senior officials called on Americans to make their voices heard at the November polls, Klein framed the election in harsh terms, offering a preview of White House messages about the subject.
“So let’s be clear, this happens in two ways: we have a House and a Senate that include Roe in federal law or a House and a Senate that push ultra-MAGA policies that deprive women of their rights in all 50 states. Congress it will protect women everywhere or dispossess their rights everywhere, ”she said.
Klein has been one of the White House officials who has led the White House’s response to the Supreme Court ruling, forming an interagency working group and shaping the administration’s outreach to key stakeholders. As Biden travels abroad to key summits this week, Klein will be among the efforts of top administration officials to speak publicly after the sentencing this week.
Sharpened language comes when Biden has begun to draw contrasts in his medium-term messages, pursuing the right-wing “ultra-MAGA agenda” compared to his policies. The president has outlined the steps his administration is taking at the federal level as the White House continues to pressure Democrats to do more.
“That decision should not be the last word,” Biden said in a statement from the White House lobby Friday. “My administration will use all its proper legal powers. Congress must act. And your vote? You can have the last word. This is not over.”
The steps she outlined in her statements — expanding access to medication abortion and making sure women can cross state borders to get abortions — had been the main focus of her team after dozens of conversations with advocates and experts on abortion rights over the past two months. .
CNN’s Melanie Zanona, Manu Raju and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.