Topline
President Joe Biden acknowledged the wide-ranging effects of the Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade in a speech Tuesday, approximately 100 days after the conservative-leaning court let states ban abortion, and announced two new moves to help protect abortion access—though his power to stop state-level bans remains limited.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at the White House on October 3 in Washington, DC.
Key Facts
Biden, speaking ahead of a meeting of his administration’s Reproductive Rights Task Force, emphasized his commitment to abortion rights, telling Americans, “We’re not going to step back from this.”
The Department of Health and Human Services will allocate more than $6 million in grant money to expanding reproductive healthcare access, the White House said Tuesday—HHS says the funding will be used for research grants to figure out how to expand family planning services and reduce teenage pregnancies.
The Department of Education also sent guidance to universities reminding them that they’re obligated under federal law to “protect their students from discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, including pregnancy termination,” and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Tuesday the administration had set up new resources to “remind schools of their obligation under Title IX” not to discriminate on that basis.
That guidance comes after the University of Idaho faced scrutiny last week for telling employees that under state law, staff members cannot “promote” or provide abortions, and that the university would no longer provide birth control access.
Biden emphasized the best way to protect abortion access is through Congress passing new legislation—which would require voters to elect a Democratic majority to Congress in November, including a Senate majority that will abolish the filibuster—saying, “The only way [that legislation is] going to happen is if the American people make it happen.”
He also warned against the national 15-week abortion ban that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced in the Senate, warning Americans’ “right to choose will still be at risk” even if their states allow abortion, and if that legislation passes, “there’s no pushing back from that.”
Big Number
30 million. That’s approximately how many women of reproductive age live in a state that bans abortion (including bans after approximately six weeks of pregnancy), the White House noted Tuesday.
Key Background
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24 in a case concerning Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, abolishing the federal right to an abortion and giving states license to ban the procedure—as many quickly went on to do. The decision means the White House is largely hamstrung in how much it can do to combat the state-level bans, though Biden’s new measures announced Tuesday are the latest in a string of smaller steps his administration has taken in favor of abortion rights. Biden has so far issued two executive orders directing agencies to take action on abortion access, and his administration has directed hospitals to provide abortions when medically necessary under federal law—even in places where it’s banned under state law—and for the Department of Veterans Affairs to perform abortions in states where the procedure is outlawed. His administration also successfully limited Idaho’s abortion ban after suing to ensure abortions are allowed during medical emergencies that aren’t life threatening.
Contra
Politico reports that one measure the White House has taken to support abortion rights, an executive order allowing states to use federal Medicaid funds to help fund abortion access and out-of-state travel for the procedure, hasn’t been successful so far. Out of 24 state governments that the outlet contacted, no state said it had taken advantage of the administration’s Medicaid offer. Politico attributed that to the complex paperwork logistics of setting that funding stream up for likely relatively little payoff, and complications with the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funds from being used on abortion except for rape, incest and medical emergencies.
Further Reading
100 Days Since Roe V. Wade Was Overturned: The 11 Biggest Consequences (Forbes)
Biden Issues Abortion Executive Order—But Doubles Down On Get-Out-The-Vote Message (Forbes)
Biden wants to use Medicaid to address abortion ‘crisis.’ States aren't biting. (Politico)
