The Senate Democrats demand that President Joe Biden immediately sign an executive ordering to protect access to reproductive healthcare, including abortions. Conservatives are increasing their attacks on reproductive right’s.
In a letter sent to Biden on Tuesday, a group of Democrats led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) highlighted steps that the president has the authority to take in order to protect abortion rights — moves that they say are only starting points for the federal government to combat the likely impending overturn of Roe v. WadeThese are the restrictions health care like birth controlThat could be the case.
“We write to urge you to immediately issue an executive order directing the federal government to develop a national plan to defend Americans’ fundamental reproductive rights, including their right to an abortion,” the lawmakers said. “[A]s President of the United States, you have the unique power to marshal the resources of the entire federal government to respond.”
The six steps the federal government can take include increasing access and providing reproductive services, as well as reviewing federal property to determine if it could provide abortion care.
They urged Biden to direct agencies to explore resources like vouchers for those who have to travel out of state to obtain an abortion, enforce federal programs like Medicaid to cover abortion and other family care services, and clarify laws surrounding abortion seekers’ privacy when it comes to data collection technology and sales.
Biden should also establish a new office for a Department of Health and Human Services ombudsman. This will allow the ombudsman collect and disseminate public information on how to access abortion funds and reproductive care clinics.
The letter was signed among others by 25 senators, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey (D–Massachusetts).
While the lawmakers praised the Biden administration for launching a “whole-of-government response” to Texas’s dangerous abortion ban, “the dramatic escalation of attacks on abortion access — spearheaded by right-wing justices, lawmakers, and activists — demands comprehensive and creative strategies from every corner of the federal government,” they wrote.
Indeed, abortion rights activists sayBiden could do more to ensure abortion access. He could, according to Democrats, make moves similar to those of the Democrats. They also suggest that he could have the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), lift restrictions on abortion pills so they can be sent by mail and could be prescribed via telemedicine. Activists have also been frustrated by Biden’s relative silence on abortionDuring his time at the office.
Biden has saidIf it is ever issued, executive guidance would be available for launch as soon the Supreme Court rules against it. Roe v. WadeThey are, as indicated by a draft decision leaked last month. But reporting has found thatOfficials at the White House believe they may have limited options when it comes protecting abortion care. They fear that any executive orders could be challenged by Republican legislators and be held accountable in court.
The lawmakers claim that using executive authority to regulate reproductive rights could send a message out to right-wing detractors and those who support abortion.
“As extremist judges and Republican politicians intensify their efforts to strip Americans of their basic reproductive freedoms, you can demonstrate to the country and women everywhere that you will do everything in your power to fight back,” they wrote. (The number of people who can get pregnant and have an abortion isn’t just limited to women, but also includes other genders.
The House recently passed a billIt would enshrine abortion rights under federal law and override state prohibitions. The bill was rescindedIn the Senate, it failed to overcome a filibuster with all fifty Republicans and conservative Democrat Joe Manchin from West Virginia voting against it.
