Decree Signing: Biden Wants to Secure Abortion Access

US President Biden issued a decree to protect women’s rights after the Supreme Court struck down abortion rights. But it is unclear how effective the decree will actually be.

US President Joe Biden wants to mitigate the consequences of repealing abortion rights through a regulation. He linked the signing of the decree to harsh criticism of the “ultra” conservative majority from Supreme Court justices, which abolished abortion rights two weeks ago.

The decree aims, among other things, to ensure access to medical abortions and emergency medical care for women and for them Better protect data, for example, when they detect abortions. In addition, the Department of Justice and the White House Legal Department will put together a team of attorneys who will provide free advice or representation to women facing legal difficulties about abortion. The penalties that women face in some states if they abort will also be eased through Biden’s so-called executive order.

The effect of the decree is not clear

Two weeks ago, the US Supreme Court struck down the nearly 50-year-old’s abortion right, arguing that it was not enshrined in the Constitution. Since there is no statewide law protecting this right, it’s now up to states to legislate — and Biden’s decree doesn’t change that.

Therefore, it is unclear to what extent the ordinance will really achieve and whether states can, at least, partially circumvent it with laws. Several states have banned, severely restricted, or are preparing to do so.

Biden is under pressure…

Biden has recently come under pressure within his own party to do more to protect abortion rights. For example, there have been calls for his government to seek to establish abortion clinics on federal lands because state laws do not apply there. However, the White House has legal concerns about this.

… He sees the campaign issue

Instead, Biden is counting on his ability to mobilize with the topic in the upcoming congressional elections this fall. He hopes to obtain a sufficient majority in which Democrats can enshrined the right to abortion in national law. “I really hope and believe that women will actually go to the polls in record numbers to take back the rights the court took away from them,” Biden said. But current opinion polls assume that the Republicans will win the congressional elections.

The right majority in the Supreme Court

Biden once again attacked the Supreme Court with an ultra-conservative majority. “The court has made it clear that it will not protect women’s rights,” he said. She makes her decisions on the basis of the interpretation of the constitution that has remained in place – when women did not even have the right to vote.

The Supreme Court has a conservative majority of six to three justices—many of whom are considered very conservative and extremely religious. Many of them want to interpret the country’s constitution as they believe it was intended by the Founding Fathers when it was enacted more than 200 years ago.