At a Thursday press conference at the White House, Biden administration press secretary Jen Psaki expertly shredded a line of questioning from a conservative-sounding reporter who questioned President Joe Biden’s support for abortion rights. The issue came up amid the national conversation surrounding a law that went into effect in Texas this week, banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and allowing private citizens to sue individuals suspected of involvement in the procurement of an illegal abortion. Biden announced that he was directing federal offices including the White House Counsel’s Office to explore potential courses of action to protect abortion rights in Texas.
As Psaki put it at the White House, “What our effort, and what the focus of the federal government is, is to look for every resource, every lever at our disposal, to ensure women in Texas have the ability to seek healthcare.” Startlingly, Psaki was then asked by a reporter with the Catholic outlet EWTN why Biden is supportive of abortion rights despite the general opposition to abortion among many Catholics.
She pointedly replied as follows, shutting down GOP-aligned talking points:
‘He believes that it’s a woman’s right, it’s a woman’s body, and it’s her choice.’
The same reporter subsequently asked Psaki who Biden believes “should look out for the unborn child.” To be clear, in any reasonable scientific sense, describing “unborn children” as the targets of abortion is not accurate. Abortion is already a serious enough subject, and those who undergo the procedure already have enough to deal with — adding this other fearmongering around the situation isn’t constructive.
Psaki replied as follows:
‘He believes that it’s up to a woman to make those decisions and up to a woman to make those decisions with her doctor. I know you have never faced those choices nor have you been pregnant. But for women out there who have faced those choices, this is an incredibly difficult thing. The president believes their rights should be respected.’
The reporter continued to question Psaki over the issue, at which point she said that she thought that “we’ve got to move on.” Check out the exchange below:
Psaki tells a male reporter who asked why Biden supports abortion: "He believes that it's up to a woman to make those decisions, and up to a woman to make those decisions with her doctor. I know you've never faced those choices, nor have you ever been pregnant." pic.twitter.com/x7SCcvtTID
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 2, 2021
