PRESIDENTIAL PROMISE: Biden double downs on pledge to protect women’s constitutional rights
President Joe Biden intends to send a bill reinstating the reproductive healthcare protections guaranteed by Roe v. Wade — before the Supreme Court decided to overturn the 1973 landmark decision — when the new session of Congress convenes in January 2023, he announced today.
“Biden is set to warn Americans that Republicans want a national ban that would criminalize doctors for performing abortions,” POLITICO wrote.
Breaking: Today, President Biden will promise that the first bill he'll send to the next Congress will be legislation to reinstate the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade. https://t.co/wiIxzbWYVb
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 18, 2022
According to POLITICO, Biden will sign the bill into law immediately once it is passed.
“Republicans don’t have a clue about the power of women,” he told a gathering of Democrats recently. “Let me tell you something: They’re about to find out.”
The President’s promise is contingent on the Democrats retaining control of both chambers. With less than a month until election day, energizing the Democratic base, along with women voters on the other side of the aisle, is paramount in the upcoming midterms.
Since the overturning of Roe and the subsequent scrambling of Red states to enact near-total abortion bans — introducing extreme bills that criminalize physicians and provide no exceptions for rape or incest – President Biden has been vocal about his commitment to protecting the reproductive rights of over 150 million Americans.
In August, Biden issued an Executive Order on Securing Access to Reproductive and Other Healthcare Services and held the first meeting of a newly formed Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access.
According to a press release on the official White House website, the top goals of the Executive Order are to:
Support Patients Traveling Out of State for Medical Care. The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider action to advance access to reproductive healthcare services, including through Medicaid for patients who travel out of state for reproductive healthcare services.
Ensure Health Care Providers Comply with Federal Non-Discrimination Law. The Executive Order directs the Secretary of HHS to consider all appropriate actions to ensure health care providers comply with Federal non-discrimination laws so that women receive medically necessary care without delay.
Promote Research and Data Collection on Maternal Health Outcomes. To accurately measure the impact that diminishing access to reproductive health care services has on women’s health.
President Biden has been on a legislative winning streak lately, shoring up federal protections for communities targeted by oppression and suppression – warning that contraception and same-sex marriage could be next.
This announcement comes at a much-needed time, with democracy’s clock ticking at an increasingly rapid pace. Hopefully, this will be the match needed to light a fire under those ambivalent about voting. Lives are on the ballot.
Original reporting by Christopher Cadelago and Alice Miranda Ollstein at POLITICO.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
