SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Dr. Cheryl Hamlin, a rotating doctor at the clinic, yells at anti-abortion demonstrators in front of the Jackson Women's Health Organization in Jackson, Mississippi on July 7, 2022. (Photo: Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images)
Under Pressure to Act, Biden to Sign Executive Order on Abortion Access
The president's order excludes certain actions that progressives have demanded, such as authorizing the use of federal lands to set up abortion clinics in Republican-led states.
Jul 08, 2022
Facing mounting backlash from progressive lawmakers and activists over his tepid response to the Supreme Court's assault on reproductive rights, President Joe Biden on Friday plans to sign a limited executive order aimed at bolstering access to abortion for people living in GOP-led states that have rushed to ban the procedure.
The order, outlined in a fact sheet released by the White House, will come two weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which ended the constitutional right to abortion and set off a flurry of "trigger bans" on abortion in states across the U.S.
"What the president and the Democratic Party needs to come to terms with is that this is not just a crisis of Roe, this is a crisis of our democracy."
Biden's executive action contains several major pillars, including "safeguarding access to reproductive healthcare services"--such as medication abortion and emergency contraception--and "protecting patient privacy and access to accurate information."
Under the new order, Biden will instruct the Department of Health and Human Services to "take additional action to protect and expand access to abortion care, including access to medication that the FDA approved as safe and effective over twenty years ago."
The order, as summarized by the White House, also expresses the Biden administration's commitment to shielding the right of pregnant people to "travel safely to another state to seek the care they need" as Republican lawmakers look to bar residents from crossing state lines to obtain an abortion.
Biden's unilateral action comes as members of his own party and advocacy organizations--which are relentlessly fighting abortion bans in court and mobilizing in the streets--are vocally criticizing the administration for failing to respond with sufficient urgency to the right-wing Supreme Court majority's attack on fundamental freedoms.
"What the president and the Democratic Party needs to come to terms with is that this is not just a crisis of Roe, this is a crisis of our democracy," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in a recent interview. "This is a crisis of legitimacy, and President Biden must address that."
The White House's outline indicates that the president is not going to utilize federal property to open abortion clinics in Republican-led states, a step that Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have urged him to take.
Warren and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have also suggested that "federal agencies could explore opportunities to provide vouchers for travel, child care services, and other forms of support for individuals seeking to access abortion care that is unavailable in their home state."
While Biden's order is expected to make clear that paid sick leave is available to federal workers who need to travel to obtain reproductive care, the executive action appears to be limited to government employees.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Facing mounting backlash from progressive lawmakers and activists over his tepid response to the Supreme Court's assault on reproductive rights, President Joe Biden on Friday plans to sign a limited executive order aimed at bolstering access to abortion for people living in GOP-led states that have rushed to ban the procedure.
The order, outlined in a fact sheet released by the White House, will come two weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which ended the constitutional right to abortion and set off a flurry of "trigger bans" on abortion in states across the U.S.
"What the president and the Democratic Party needs to come to terms with is that this is not just a crisis of Roe, this is a crisis of our democracy."
Biden's executive action contains several major pillars, including "safeguarding access to reproductive healthcare services"--such as medication abortion and emergency contraception--and "protecting patient privacy and access to accurate information."
Under the new order, Biden will instruct the Department of Health and Human Services to "take additional action to protect and expand access to abortion care, including access to medication that the FDA approved as safe and effective over twenty years ago."
The order, as summarized by the White House, also expresses the Biden administration's commitment to shielding the right of pregnant people to "travel safely to another state to seek the care they need" as Republican lawmakers look to bar residents from crossing state lines to obtain an abortion.
Biden's unilateral action comes as members of his own party and advocacy organizations--which are relentlessly fighting abortion bans in court and mobilizing in the streets--are vocally criticizing the administration for failing to respond with sufficient urgency to the right-wing Supreme Court majority's attack on fundamental freedoms.
"What the president and the Democratic Party needs to come to terms with is that this is not just a crisis of Roe, this is a crisis of our democracy," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in a recent interview. "This is a crisis of legitimacy, and President Biden must address that."
The White House's outline indicates that the president is not going to utilize federal property to open abortion clinics in Republican-led states, a step that Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have urged him to take.
Warren and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have also suggested that "federal agencies could explore opportunities to provide vouchers for travel, child care services, and other forms of support for individuals seeking to access abortion care that is unavailable in their home state."
While Biden's order is expected to make clear that paid sick leave is available to federal workers who need to travel to obtain reproductive care, the executive action appears to be limited to government employees.
Facing mounting backlash from progressive lawmakers and activists over his tepid response to the Supreme Court's assault on reproductive rights, President Joe Biden on Friday plans to sign a limited executive order aimed at bolstering access to abortion for people living in GOP-led states that have rushed to ban the procedure.
The order, outlined in a fact sheet released by the White House, will come two weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which ended the constitutional right to abortion and set off a flurry of "trigger bans" on abortion in states across the U.S.
"What the president and the Democratic Party needs to come to terms with is that this is not just a crisis of Roe, this is a crisis of our democracy."
Biden's executive action contains several major pillars, including "safeguarding access to reproductive healthcare services"--such as medication abortion and emergency contraception--and "protecting patient privacy and access to accurate information."
Under the new order, Biden will instruct the Department of Health and Human Services to "take additional action to protect and expand access to abortion care, including access to medication that the FDA approved as safe and effective over twenty years ago."
The order, as summarized by the White House, also expresses the Biden administration's commitment to shielding the right of pregnant people to "travel safely to another state to seek the care they need" as Republican lawmakers look to bar residents from crossing state lines to obtain an abortion.
Biden's unilateral action comes as members of his own party and advocacy organizations--which are relentlessly fighting abortion bans in court and mobilizing in the streets--are vocally criticizing the administration for failing to respond with sufficient urgency to the right-wing Supreme Court majority's attack on fundamental freedoms.
"What the president and the Democratic Party needs to come to terms with is that this is not just a crisis of Roe, this is a crisis of our democracy," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in a recent interview. "This is a crisis of legitimacy, and President Biden must address that."
The White House's outline indicates that the president is not going to utilize federal property to open abortion clinics in Republican-led states, a step that Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have urged him to take.
Warren and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have also suggested that "federal agencies could explore opportunities to provide vouchers for travel, child care services, and other forms of support for individuals seeking to access abortion care that is unavailable in their home state."
While Biden's order is expected to make clear that paid sick leave is available to federal workers who need to travel to obtain reproductive care, the executive action appears to be limited to government employees.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy