Biden Signs Executive Order On Abortion, Contraception Access In US. Know What It Means
The President's powers remain constrained as US states can make laws restricting abortion and access to medication, and the executive order is expected to have a limited impact
US President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order to protect access to services to terminate pregnancies on the back of mounting pressure from fellow Democrats after the Supreme Court ended a constitutional right to the procedure two weeks ago. Biden termed the Supreme Court decision as an exercise in "raw political power", reported news agency Reuters.
Today I signed an Executive Order to protect the reproductive rights of women in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's extreme decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 8, 2022
It formalizes the actions I announced right after the decision and will add new measures to protect women's health. pic.twitter.com/cujWTnxKvw
Last month, the Supreme Court overturned a landmark case Roe v. Wade in a 5-3-1 decision. The order upended roughly 50 years of protections for women's reproductive rights allowing states to make their own laws governing abortion.
Executive orders
The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) has been directed to protect and expand access to "medication abortion" approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Biden also asked the department to ensure women have access to emergency medical care, family planning services, and contraception, including intrauterine devices (IUDs). The President is also establishing an interagency task force on reproductive health care access, which will include Attorney General Merrick Garland.
HHS will also look to expand access to emergency contraception and long-acting reversible contraception like intrauterine devices, or IUDs, according to the White House.
The President is directing HHS to consider additional actions to safeguard sensitive information related to reproductive health care, including under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
What does executive order on abortion means?
The President's powers remain constrained as US states can make laws restricting abortion and access to medication, and the executive order is expected to have a limited impact, reported Reuters. "What we're witnessing wasn't a constitutional judgment, it was an exercise in raw political power," said Biden.
“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," he said. The President cannot take any action to restore the nationwide right to an abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling.
Stating that his options to expand abortion access remain limited, he has asked people to elect more members of Congress in November's midterm elections who will support federal legislation protecting abortion access.
The President noted that the White House is not publicly entertaining the idea of reforming the court itself or expanding the nine-member panel, an option pushed by Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Representative Pramila Jayapal.
"I don't think the court, or for that matter Republicans ... have a clue about the power of American women," he said, adding he believed women would turn out in record numbers in November's election to restore women's rights.
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