President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a meeting of the Reproductive Health Task Force on Jan. 22, 2024. Biden met with the task force to discuss reproductive health and to mark the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images) |
BY LIVIA FOLLET | In the midst of Republican elected officials “sowing chaos” in a “quest to ban abortion nationwide,” the Biden administration announced this week it is taking steps to help improve Americans’ reproductive healthcare access—including expanding coverage for no-cost contraception, increasing patient and provider awareness of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), and safeguarding medication abortion access.
On Monday, the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration held a White House briefing to outline the new measures. The same day, agencies from across the administration convened a meeting of the Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access (created in 2022) to hear from physicians directly affected by the Dobbs decision, receive recommendations on implementing past executive orders, and coordinate on next steps. Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Wisconsin to launch a nationwide tour focused on reproductive freedom.
Administration officials admit that the path forward to improve abortion access across the U.S. lies largely with Congress. “We, and the president himself, have been laser-focused on passing federal legislation as the only way to restore the protections that were lost under Roe,” said Jen Klein, assistant to the president and director of the Gender Policy Council, at the briefing—referring to the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which would establish the legal right to abortion in all 50 states. “President Biden and Vice President Harris will continue to call on Congress to pass a law restoring the protections of Roe versus Wade, the only way to ensure that women in every state have access to abortion.”
But in the meantime, the administration laid out its plan and a commitment “to continue fighting back against extreme attacks throughout America.”
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