President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have placed abortion at the forefront of their campaign.
In a concerted effort to support widespread pregnancy termination in the United States, Biden directed criticism at what he referred to as "extreme Republicans" who have proposed or enacted laws restricting abortions beyond certain limits.
Biden targets "extremist Republicans" on anniversary of Roe v Wade decisionhttps://t.co/BsfTFVMzsPhttps://t.co/BsfTFVMzsP
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 22, 2024
Biden argued that such laws pose a threat to the "right to privacy." Employing language commonly associated with Democratic discourse on abortion, the focus shifted towards pregnant individuals, avoiding the term "mother" and emphasizing the "right to choose" whether to proceed with the pregnancy.
Biden asserted that the right to abortion is "grounded in the concept of freedom," citing rare cases of medically necessary abortions to save the mother's life.
While some states have imposed limitations on abortion, others, like Oregon, have no restrictions, allowing abortions throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy.
According to Guttmacher, there were 930,000 abortions in 2020, the most recent year for which data is available. The CDC reports that 39 percent of all abortions in the U.S. are performed on Black mothers, representing the highest percentage among racial groups. White mothers account for 33 percent of abortions in the U.S.
Biden decried the actions of "extreme Republicans" who have long sought to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision.
Following the reversal of Roe, 21 states have implemented abortion bans. Biden consistently labels Republicans who disagree with him on issues such as abortion, transgender rights, and the Ukraine conflict as "extreme."
Expressing opposition to state-level bans on pregnancy termination, ranging from complete bans to 6-week and 15-week restrictions, Biden warned that the "right to choose and right to privacy" would be jeopardized if these bans were enforced at the federal level.
Instead, he proposed a federal law allowing abortion without limits or exceptions, with the current proposal incorporating a limit only in cases where the mother's health, including mental health, is at risk.
Biden advocated for broader accessibility to chemical abortions which now make up approximately half of U.S. abortions.
These statements were made on the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022 with the Dobbs decision, returning the authority to determine the legality of abortion to the states.
Vice President Harris initiated a Reproductive Rights Tour to advocate for the urgency of a federal law permitting pregnancy termination, regardless of individual states' rights, across the entire nation.
