On Friday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order intended to “protect and expand access to abortion” as several states have banned or severely restricted abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling which overturned Roe v Wade.
Describing Roe as a decision that “articulated the United States Constitution’s protection of women’s fundamental right to make reproductive healthcare decisions,” the order states that the court’s decision to overturn the 1973 ruling “has already had and will continue to have devastating implications for women’s health and public health more broadly.”
“Access to reproductive healthcare services is now threatened for millions of Americans, and especially for those who live in States that are banning or severely restricting abortion care.”
“In the face of this health crisis, the Federal Government is taking action to protect healthcare service delivery and promote access to critical reproductive healthcare services, including abortion. It remains the policy of my Administration to support women’s right to choose and to protect and defend reproductive rights. Doing so is essential to justice, equality, and our health, safety, and progress as a Nation,” the order reads.
President Biden has ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to submit a report to him which would identify potential actions the federal agency could take “to protect and expand access to abortion care, including medication abortion” as well as “identifying ways to increase outreach and education about access to reproductive healthcare services, including by launching a public awareness initiative to provide timely and accurate information about such access.”
The Attorney General of the United States will also “convene a meeting of private pro bono attorneys, bar associations, and public interest organizations in order to encourage lawyers to represent and assist patients, providers, and third parties lawfully seeking these services throughout the country.”
“The Attorney General shall provide technical assistance, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, concerning Federal constitutional protections to States seeking to afford legal protection to out-of-State patients and providers who offer legal reproductive healthcare,” the order also states.
President Biden’s administration was poised to combat state efforts to ban abortion before the Supreme Court released its decision, even considering declaring abortion access to be a public health crisis according to one report.
Democrat lawmakers had also called upon Biden to use the “full force” of the federal government to protect access to abortion immediately after the high court’s decision late last month.
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