Biden Vows To Fight For Abortion Rights

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday he will fight to preserve access to abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and called on Americans to elect more Democrats who safeguard the rights threatened by the highest court’s decision. “This is not the end,” he declared.

“Let it be clear, the health and lives of women across this nation are now in danger,” he said from the White House on what he described as “a sad day for the court and for the country.”

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The president added that “the court has done something that it has never done before: it has expressly taken away a constitutional right that is so fundamental for so many Americans.”

Republican and conservative leaders celebrated the culmination of a decades-long campaign to reverse the nation’s legalization of abortion that began with Roe v. Wades in 1973.

“Millions of Americans have spent a half century praying, marching and working toward today’s historic victories for the rule of law and for innocent lives,” said Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, an architect of efforts to tilt the Supreme Court to the right.

Although Biden had previously expressed mixed feelings on abortion, he delivered a forceful defense on Friday. Noting that Republican-controlled states now had a clear path to ban abortion, even in cases of incest or rape, she said the ruling “just amazes me.”

Because the country is now going to have a hodgepodge of policies — with some states restricting abortion and others providing it freely — Biden stressed that the court’s decision does not prevent anyone from traveling to end a pregnancy.

“Women should continue to have the freedom to safely travel to another state to seek the care they need,” she said. “And my government will defend that fundamental right.” Biden warned that other legal precedents that guarantee same-sex marriage and access to birth control could also be in jeopardy.

“It is an extreme and dangerous path that the court is taking us down,” he warned.

The annulment of Roe vs. Wade was not unexpected — a draft of the decision was leaked nearly two months ago — but it was still felt throughout the capital.

The White House and Justice Department said they would look for ways to dent the ruling’s impact, and Biden said his administration will try to ensure abortion drugs are readily available.

However, no measures were announced on Friday, with Biden admitting his options are limited. White House officials tried to encourage allies in a virtual meeting after the president’s remarks.

“We have to stick together,” said Emmy Ruiz, director of political strategy. “We know that the task ahead of us is incredibly daunting. But we are prepared to respond at the moment.”

Outside the headquarters of the Supreme Court, the number of supporters of the right to abortion grew after the announcement was made known. A rival faction was speaking in favor, with signs that read: “The future is anti-abortion” and “Cut Roe to pieces.”

Biden and other Democrats hope to use the outrage over the announcement by the nation’s highest court to rally voters ahead of November’s midterm elections. Although national legislation guaranteeing abortion rights seems unattainable, more Democratic victories at the state level could limit Republican attempts to ban it.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, said that the ruling “is shocking and heartbreaking” and that it fulfills “the dark and extreme objective” of the Republican Party “of stripping women of the right to make their own decisions of reproductive health”.

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