Biden To Bypass GOP With Executive Order On Abortion Rights

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On Tuesday night, the ruby-red state of Kansas voted against removing the state’s constitutional protections for abortion access, surely striking fear ahead of the midterm elections in November in the hearts of every Republican candidate who woke up on Wednesday morning . On Wednesday afternoon, President Joe Biden will stand with the majority of all Americans, including the 60 percent of voters in Kansas who stood up for reproductive health care rights, and sign an executive order protecting access to abortion services.

Although Biden’s ability to protect what had been a constitutional right for nearly fifty years is limited thanks to the Republican-packed Supreme Court, a third of whose justices were appointed by the twice-impeached ex-president, he and his administration have taken multiple steps to ensure that the bodily autonomy of all Americans is ensured.

In July, Biden signed an executive order protecting access to medication abortions and protect abortion providers from GOP-led lawsuits across the country. His new order tackles other aspects of the issue.

CNN reports that:

‘Wednesday’s executive order directs Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to consider “all appropriate actions to ensure health care providers comply with federal non-discrimination laws so that women receive medically necessary care without delay,” including steps to provide health care providers with technical and legal guidance amid the patchwork of state legal restrictions on abortion care following the Supreme Court’s decision.’

Although Republican lawmakers scoffed at the outrage over the repeal of Roe v Wade, saying that the right to an abortion was being left up to states and that women could still travel to receive abortion services, which far oversimplifies the issue, lawmakers in some states are already proposing laws to ban out-of-state abortion care. Bien’s executive order also aims to protect that right.

‘Wednesday’s order also directs HHS to consider actions guaranteeing women traveling across state lines seeking abortions have access to health care services, including through Medicaid. Last month, a bill guaranteeing women the right to travel across state lines to seek abortions failed to pass the Senate after Republicans blocked the measure.’

The order will allow for out-of-state providers to treat patients to waive some of the more restrictive requirements under the new laws in a post-Roe America, offering some small hope to those seeking abortion services. In addition, the order provides funding for tracking women’s health data to improve reproductive health services across the country.

‘Wednesday’s executive order is the second one signed by Biden in the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Last month, Biden signed an order that he said would safeguard access to abortion care and contraceptives, protect patient privacy and establish an interagency task force to use “every federal tool available to protect access to reproductive health care.”‘