US President Joe Biden issued an executive order on federal assistance to women seeking abortions after the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision two weeks ago.
Biden said that was all he could do and that he knew it would only have a limited impact. He said the solution would be for voters to guarantee abortion rights in congressional elections by electing more pro-choice senators.
“What we saw was not a decision of the Constitutional Court, but an outrageous political practice,” the president declared in his press conference, citing many of the arguments of the judges who disagreed with the decision. “We cannot allow the Supreme Court, which is under the control of extremist elements in the Republican Party, to arbitrarily withdraw our right to liberty and self-determination,” he added.
In the executive order, the president directed the Department of Health to make the FDA-approved abortion pill more widely available. However, according to experts, the pills will only be available by prescription for years to come. In states that have already restricted access, a presidential order will be ineffective.
Biden also directed the attorney general and his White House advisers to hire a team of lawyers to provide free counseling to women seeking abortions and to physicians performing abortions.
Editorial photo: MTI/AP/Evan Vucci
