- President
Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday to protectabortion access. - The move came after the
Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion on June 24.
President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order to protect access to abortion after the Supreme Court tossed out federal abortion rights two weeks ago.
The move comes as the White House faces intense pressure from Democrats to take action in response to the Supreme Court's conservative majority overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion almost 50 years ago. Biden cannot legally reinstate the constitutional right to abortion but can take steps to protect abortion access as several Republican-led states have imposed restrictions on the procedure.
Biden on Friday slammed the Supreme Court's decision as "terrible, extreme," and "totally wrongheaded."
"This was not a decision driven by the Constitution," he said. "Despite what those justices in the majority said, this was not a decision driven by history."
He added: "It was about a deep-, long-seated antipathy toward Roe and the broader right to privacy."
Democrats, who hold a slim majority in the Senate, lack the 60 votes necessary to codify Roe v. Wade into law, which would restore abortion rights at the federal level. Biden said last week that he supported eliminating the Senate filibuster, a 60-vote requirement for legislation to pass, specifically to restore abortion rights. But Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema oppose the move. Democratic leaders, including Biden, have urged voters to expand the Democratic majority in November so they may advance legislation to protect abortion rights.
Biden, in his remarks on Friday, again encouraged voters to elect Democrats in the midterm elections who support abortion rights.
"I don't think the court, or for that matter, Republicans, who for decades have pushed the extreme agenda, have a clue about the power of American women," he said. "But they're about to find out, in my view. It's my hope and strong belief that women will, in fact, turn out in record numbers to reclaim the rights that have been taken from them by the court."
Biden added: "Let me be clear: While I wish it had not come to this, this is the fastest route available. The fastest way to restore Roe is to pass a national law codifying Roe, which I will sign immediately upon its passage."
The president is set to direct the Department of Health and Human Services to protect and expand access to abortion care, including federally approved medication abortion, according to a White House fact sheet. The executive order also seeks to protect patients' digital and medical privacy rights and instructs the department to ensure emergency healthcare for pregnant women and to expand reproductive-healthcare services, including contraception access and family planning.
The White House, along with Attorney General Merrick Garland, will establish an interagency task force to coordinate the response. The White House and Garland will also gather pro-bono lawyers to defend women who travel out of state to get an abortion where it is legal.
In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, some Democrats have called for Biden to set up abortion clinics on federal lands in states where the procedure has been banned, though the White House has opposed the idea. The White House also shut down a push from the party's left wing to expand the number of justices who sit on the Supreme Court, in an attempt to offset the 6-3 conservative majority.