WASHINGTON — President Biden on Tuesday announced new measures to protect access to abortion. This comes 100 days after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to terminate pregnancies, prompting the American people to pass a law ensuring that abortion is legal throughout the United States. He called on Congress to put pressure on him. .
The action comes at a time when reproductive rights have become a central issue in political campaigns across the country ahead of next month’s midterm elections. He used the court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade to motivate voters to elect representatives who would block imposing restrictions.
Biden convened a task force on reproductive health at the White House and said, “We don’t have a handful of votes right now.” “The only way it will happen is if Americans make it happen.”
Biden attacked Republican lawmakers pushing for a nationwide ban on abortion and urged voters to remind voters of what would be at stake if Democrats lost control of power in Washington.
“It means that even if you live in a state where no radical Republican official is running the show, your options are still at risk,” Biden said.
2022 midterm elections
With the primaries over, both parties are shifting their focus to the November 8 general election.
At least 14 states now ban most abortions. Biden administration officials estimate that about 30 million women of childbearing age currently live in prohibited states, and about 22 million women will not be able to access abortion care after six weeks. .
The White House said Tuesday that the Department of Education will issue a reminder to colleges and universities not to discriminate against students based on their pregnancy, including whether the pregnancy has ended.
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Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services is announcing a $6 million grant to expand access to family planning clinics that receive Title X federal funding. The White House has asked Congress for another $400 million for the clinic.
The White House believes public opinion is on its side when it comes to abortion.
A Pew Research Center survey this summer found that 61% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in most cases, but political divisions over these issues have become more acute. I’m here.
With the race raging across the country, Democrats are amplifying the issue. The House Democratic Super PAC invests heavily in advertising focused on reproductive rights. It features police officers handcuffing doctors, nurses, and patients who have sought or performed “health care services that have been legalized for nearly 50 years.”
Some Republicans have tried to downplay abortion in favor of a focus on crime and inflation. The issue resurfaced when the government submitted a bill to ban it. Minority leader Senator Mitch McConnell said he doesn’t expect Republicans to try to enact a nationwide abortion ban.
The Biden administration faces criticism for not doing more to protect women’s abortion rights after a court decision earlier this year. White House officials are skeptical about what such a move would accomplish, despite calling for a public health emergency to be declared to Be careful about that.
In a memo ahead of the announcement, Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council, outlined some of the steps the Biden administration has taken to maintain access to abortion. executive orders defending the right to travel across state borders for the sake of health, and guidance aimed at enabling physicians to offer abortions when patients “present an urgent medical condition” and need to be stabilized. pointed out.
But White House officials acknowledged that without Congress there is only so much they can do to protect access to abortion and cast reproductive rights as a moral issue.
Vice President Kamala Harris said at a task force meeting, “I believe women should have the freedom to make decisions about their bodies, and the government shouldn’t make those decisions for her. “Today, extremists, so-called leaders, are attacking the liberties and freedoms of millions of women at the national level.”