Just two weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, President Biden has decided to sign an executive order that would safeguard access to abortion and other reproductive health care.
In a speech to mark an executive order on reproductive rights, Biden called on the American people to “vote, vote, vote, vote,” in the upcoming election, saying it is the fastest way to regain abortion rights in the US. “Let me be clear. While I wish it had not come to this, this is the fastest route available,” Biden said. “The fastest way to restore Roe is to pass a national law codifying Roe, which I will sign immediately upon its passage on my desk.”
“The choice is clear: if you want to change the circumstances for women and even little girls in this country please go out and vote,” he noted.
The executive order calls on agencies to protect access to the abortion pill, patient privacy, abortion clinics in states where it remains legal and interstate travel.
It also beefs up protection against potential penalties that women seeking abortion may face if they travel across state lines for the procedure, protects access to contraception, and takes steps to protect patient privacy.
The intervention from Congress is necessary in order to restore the rights of people who can become pregnant in state that have already banned the procedure.
What has happened since Roe V. Wade was overturned?
Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v Wade two weeks ago — the landmark 1973 ruling that guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion across the US. Since then, at least nine states have instituted a near-total ban. The only exception is being danger to the life of the mother. Meanwhile, other states are now scrambling to protect abortion access amid legal challenges.
Abortion rights activists have been calling on Joe Biden to do more, and it looks like they’re going to continue to put pressure on the president until it’s done.
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