Friday’s executive order was signed by President Joe Biden to ensure access to reproductive healthcare and abortion. His decision came in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, which ended a constitutional right to abortion two weeks ago.
“This was not a decision driven by the Constitution, and despite what those justices in the majority said, this was not a decision driven by history,”Biden spoke Friday at the White House. As he spoke, Vice President Kamala Harris and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra stood beside him.
“This decision affects everyone, unrelated to choice, beyond choice,” Biden said. “We cannot allow an out-of-control Supreme Court, working in conjunction with extremist elements of the Republican Party, to take away freedoms and our personal autonomy.”
Biden’s executive order protects access to contraception and will expand access to free contraception, he said.
The order also calls on the Justice Department to do everything possible to protect those seeking abortion, including protecting a person’s right to cross state lines in seeking an abortion, as well as to protect access to medication abortion, or abortion pills that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The HHS has also been tasked to ensure emergency medical care is available for anyone who needs it, which could include updating regulations surrounding the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).
The directive also directs agencies to train medical providers as well as insurers on how to share confidential patient information with authorities. It includes the time and how to do this. As the Biden administration seeks protection for women seeking to have or undergoing abortions, this directive was issued. The Federal Trade Commission has been asked to work to protect data privacy of those researching abortion and other reproductive services online.
“The choice we face as a nation is between the mainstream and the extreme, between moving forward and moving backwards, between allowing politicians to enter the most personal parts of our lives and protecting the right to privacy — yes, yes — embedded in our Constitution,” Biden said.
Biden previously spoke out about his limitations regarding abortion access, but Democrats are putting increasing pressure on him to speak more forcefully on the subject.
“President Biden has made clear that the only way to secure a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe as federal law,”Please read the following:StatementReleased by the White House prior to the signing the executive order “Until then, he has committed to doing everything in his power to defend reproductive rights and protect access to safe and legal abortion.”
Biden called on voters, particularly women, to go to the polls on Friday.
“We need two additional pro-choice senators and a pro-choice House to codify Roe as federal law,” Biden said. “Your vote can make that a reality.
“I know it’s frustrating and it made a lot of people very angry,” he continued. “But the truth is this — and it’s not just me saying it; it’s what the Court said: When you read the decision, the Court has made clear it will not protect the rights of women. Period.”