PresidentJoe Bidenon Friday afternoon spoke to Americans aboutthe Supreme Court’s decision to overturnRoe v. Wade, a ruling that eliminated the constitutional right to abortion.
“Today the Supreme Court of the United States expressly took away the constitutional right for the American people they had already recognized. They didn’t limit it, they simply took it away. That’s never been done to a right so important to so many Americans,” Biden said. Now withRoegone, let’s be very clear: the health and life of women in this nation, are now at risk."
“The consequences and the consensus of the American people — core principles of equality, liberty, dignity, and a stability of the rule of law — demand thatRoeshould not have been overturned,” he added. “With this decision, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court show how extreme it is; how far removed they are from the majority of this country, that they’ve made the United States an outlier among developed nations of the world.”
In a speech from the White House, Biden discussed the plan for his administration to use “all of its appropriate lawful powers to fight back” but imploring Congress to take action.
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“I know so many of us are frustrated and disillusioned that the court has taken something away that is so fundamental. I know so many women are now going to face incredibly difficult situations,” the president said. “I hear you, I support you, I stand with you.”
“Congress must act,” Biden said. “Let me be very clear and not ambiguous: the only way we can secure a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to restore the protection ofRoe v. Wadeas federal law. No executive action from the president can do that. And if Congress, as it appears, lacks the vote to do that now, voters need to make their voices heard.”
He also promised that the administration will do everything in its power to protect women’s access to medications, contraception, and the right of women living in states that restrict abortion to travel to states that allow it.
“My administration will defend that bedrock right,” Biden said. “If any state or local official high or low tries to interfere with a woman’s exercising her basic right to travel, I will do everything in my power to fight that deeply un-American attack.”
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Calling the Supreme Court’s ruling “a sad day for the court and the country,” Biden stressed that he believed “Roe v. Wadewas the correct decision.”
He went on to outline the importance of a balance of power, tracing back the Supreme Court’s decision to overturnRoe v. Wadeto former President Donald Trump.
The president outlined the “real and immediate consequences” the overturning ofRoe v. Wadewould have on American women. “It just stuns me,” he said. “Doctors will be criminalized for fulfilling their duty to care. Imagine a young woman having to carry a child that’s the consequence of incest, with no option? Too often the case that poor women will be hit the hardest. It’s cruel. "
Biden noted that this decision sets the stage to eliminate other personal freedoms.
“Roerecognized the fundamental right to privacy that has served as the basis for so many other rights that we’ve come to take for granted, that are engrained in the fabric of this country. The right to make the best decisions for your health. The right to use birth control … The right to marry the person you love. … this is an extreme and dangerous path the court is now taking us on.”
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Roe v. Wadeis a landmark Supreme Court decision of 1973 that granted women the right to an abortion in every state.
“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” Alito wrote.
Protesters demonstrate outside of the Supreme Court.Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty
“Roe v. Wadeadvanced women’s equality,” Harris added at the time, in part. “The constitutional right of women to make decisions about their own bodies is not an abstract concept. It saves women’s lives.”
In May,Politico released a leaked draft opinionfrom the Supreme Court that detailed their decision tooverturnRoe v. Wade. Officials have since been working on strategies with health care professionals, state leaders and other political operatives on next steps.
“If the court does overturnRoe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect awoman’s right to choose,” Biden said in May. “And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November. At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifiesRoe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.”
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source: people.com
