Two weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order aimed at protecting access to abortion nationwide despite efforts by some states to ban or severely restrict it.
Speaking from the Roosevelt Chamber of the White House alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Biden denounced the court’s decision two weeks ago as “extreme” and “totally wrong.”
The president also urged women, specifically, to exercise their “political power” by running in record numbers this November, saying it is the “fastest way” to overturn the court ruling by giving Democrats in Congress the majorities they need to codify abortion. rights under federal law.
“This is no horror imagined,” Biden said. “It’s already happening. Last week it was reported that a 10-year-old girl was a rape victim –10 years old– and was forced to travel out of state to Indiana to try to end pregnancy and maybe save her life. “
“Imagine being that girl,” he continued. “I’m serious, just imagine being that girl.”
Executive action comes as Biden faces pressure from fellow Democrats to take more forceful action, especially since the high court ruling on June 24 leaked in early May.
Her order largely ends what the administration has already announced, including instructions to the Justice Department to make sure women can travel out of state to receive care for abortion.
The order addresses high risks for patients, providers and clinics, which includes efforts to protect mobile clinics that have been deployed at state borders to provide care to patients outside the state.
Biden’s action, the White House said, orders Attorney General Merrick Garland and the White House counselor to convene attorneys and volunteer organizations to “encourage strong legal representation of patients, providers, and third parties who legally seek or provide services. nationwide reproductive health care. “
Biden has also said he will offer permission to federal workers traveling to receive medical care, which could be an example for private companies to do the same.
Amazon, Starbucks and other corporations have already announced extended health benefits to pay for their employees ’travel expenses if they are looking for an abortion and the procedure is not available near where they live.
President Joe Biden signs an executive order to help safeguard women’s access to abortion and contraception at the White House on July 8, 2022, in Washington. Vice President Kamala Harris, on the left, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco are by her side.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Biden also orders the Department of Health and Human Services to take “additional action to protect and expand” access to abortion with medications, emergency contraception and IUDs.
The agency is instructed to increase public outreach and education efforts on access to reproductive health care services, including abortion, to obtain reliable information from the public.
Patient privacy is another part of Biden’s order, which takes additional steps to address the transfer and sale of sensitive health-related data, combat digital surveillance related to reproductive health services, and protect people from practices. fraudulent and misleading.
Last week, Democratic governors urged Biden to use federal facilities and land for abortion services.
“What am I talking about? Veterans hospitals, military bases and other places where the federal government controls jurisdiction in some of the states that are hostile to women’s rights, and make sure these services are available to other women.” , New York. Governor Kathy Hochul suggested.
The White House did not seem too excited about the idea, saying it could have “dangerous ramifications.” The suggestion will not be included in the Biden executive order.
Also not included in Biden’s action are several proponents’ proposals, including this week’s recommendation by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that the administration make it clear that Americans can legally carry the abortion pill. across the border between the United States and Canada.
Biden says it is ultimately up to Congress to code Roe into law and that he would sign any bill sent to his desk immediately. But any effort by Democrats to do so would likely fail in the Senate, where they would need 10 Republican votes.
Biden suggested a separation of filibusters to enshrine abortion rights in federal law, but two Democratic senators – Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema – are opposed to changing the long-held Senate rule.
President Joe Biden talks about access to abortion before an executive order was signed in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on July 8, 2022 in Washington.
Evan Vucci / AP
The president called on women to participate in record numbers this November to choose more Democrats who support abortion rights. Reading directly the majority opinion of the court, Biden stressed that “women are not without electoral or political power.”
“You, the women of America, determine the outcome of this problem,” Biden said.
Biden uttered strong words to condemn the court and the Republican Party, warning that a host of other unlisted privacy rights, such as same-sex marriage and contraception, could be at risk.
“We cannot allow an out-of-control Supreme Court to work in conjunction with extremist elements of the Republican Party to take away our freedoms and our personal autonomy,” Biden said.