Darren Lyn
08 July 2022•Update: 09 July 2022
HOUSTON, Texas
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday aimed at protecting women’s rights to abortion across the US.
"We cannot allow an out-of-control Supreme Court working in conjunction with extremist elements in the Republican Party to take away freedoms and our personal autonomy," Biden said in a televised address to the nation.
Deriding the Supreme Court’s decision two weeks ago to overturn Roe v. Wade as “extreme” and “totally wrong,” the president backed up his stance with a recent abortion case that made headlines across the country.
“This isn't some imagined horror," he said. "It is already happening. Just last week, it was reported that a 10-year-old girl was a rape victim – 10 years old – and she was forced to have to travel out of state to Indiana to seek to terminate the pregnancy and maybe save her life. Imagine being that little girl. I'm serious, just imagine being that little girl."
The executive order gives authority to the Justice Department to make sure women can legally travel out-of-state for abortion care from states that have already outlawed, or severely restricted abortion access.
It also addresses the elevated risks for patients, providers and clinics, including efforts to protect mobile clinics offering care for out-of-state patients.
Besides, Biden said he will provide leave for federal workers traveling for abortion-related medical care, setting up a potential model for private companies to do the same. Amazon and Starbucks are among the largest companies that have already announced expanded health benefits for out-of-state abortion-related medical care.
The US president is also ordering the Department of Health and Human Services to take "additional action to protect and expand" access to medication abortion, emergency contraception and IUDs (intrauterine devices).
Biden stressed “the fastest way to restore” abortion rights in the US is for Congress to codify Roe v. Wade into law.
In lieu of that happening, the president called on women to turn out in record numbers for November’s midterm elections to elect more Democrats who support abortion rights.
"You, the women of America, you determine the outcome of this issue," Biden emphasized. “The choice is clear: if you want to change the circumstances for women and even little girls in this country, please go out and vote.”
