WASHINGTON – On the occasion of the Roe v. Wade anniversary, President Joe Biden has announced comprehensive steps to augment access to abortion services and contraception. This initiative is part of his administration’s response to the proliferation of state-level abortion prohibitions and a key aspect of Biden’s reelection campaign, where reproductive rights are a primary focus.
The administration is set to broaden the scope of the Affordable Care Act, providing no-cost contraception as per new guidelines issued by federal agencies. Additionally, new measures have been taken to ensure that federal employees have enhanced access to contraception, as outlined in guidelines directed at specific insurers.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra plans to issue a directive to private insurers as well as state Medicaid and Medicare programs, emphasizing their obligation to offer no-cost contraception to their beneficiaries.
These initiatives, which President Biden detailed during a meeting of his task force on reproductive healthcare access, are in line with the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This landmark ruling, which had established a constitutional right to abortion for nearly five decades, was overturned in 2022 by the conservative-majority Supreme Court.
President Biden, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, expressed their commitment to defending women’s reproductive rights against the Republican party’s “dangerous, extreme, and out-of-touch agenda.” Biden emphasized his administration’s alignment with the majority of Americans who support the right to choose and urged Congress to reinstates Roe’s protections at the federal level.
The Department of Health and Human Services is also launching an educational campaign to inform patients about their rights to pregnancy-related emergency care, which includes abortion services under certain circumstances, as per the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
In anticipation of a potential electoral contest against former President Donald Trump, the Biden campaign is highlighting the role of Trump’s three Supreme Court appointees in the revocation of Roe. This decision has enabled Republican-dominated states to enact new abortion bans and restrictions.
President Biden criticized Republican efforts at both the congressional and state levels to impose national abortion restrictions, labeling these measures as extreme and inconsistent with American values.
Biden, a proponent of legislation to codify abortion rights previously guaranteed under Roe, acknowledged that its success hinges on achieving substantial Democratic majorities in both the Senate and the House.
The President vowed that until such legislation is passed, his administration will continue to safeguard women’s rights in light of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which nullified Roe.
A new television advertisement from the Biden campaign features Dr. Austin Dennard, a Texas OB-GYN and mother of three, who shares her experience of being compelled to leave Texas to undergo a life-saving abortion.
President Biden and Vice President Harris are scheduled to lead a rally in Virginia on Tuesday, coinciding with the New Hampshire Democratic primary. This event is part of a renewed effort by the Biden campaign to position the restoration of abortion rights as a central theme in the 2024 election. Biden will not attend the New Hampshire primary, given an ongoing dispute over the primary calendar with the Democratic National Committee.