July 10 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he has asked his administration to consider whether it has the authority to declare a public health emergency related to abortion after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortions across the country.
The comments come after Biden signed an executive order on Friday to make it easier to access abortion services. Read more
Biden was on a bike ride near his residence in Delaware when he stopped to speak with reporters, who asked him if he was considering declaring a public health emergency over access to abortion. The president responded that he was asking his staff to see “if I have the authority” and what the impacts would be.
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US President Joe Biden speaks before signing an executive order to help protect women’s access to abortion and contraception after the Supreme Court last month overturned Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion, at the White House in Washington, US. July 8, 2022. REUTERS/ Kevin Lamarck
Biden, a Democrat, is under pressure from his own party to act after last month’s landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which overturned roughly 50 years of protections for women’s reproductive rights.
As he stopped to speak with reporters, Biden said his goal was to codify abortion rights through legislation and delivered a message to abortion rights protesters who gathered outside the White House.
“Keep protesting. Keep voicing your opinion. This is extremely important,” he said. “We can do a lot to accommodate women’s rights.”
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Reporting by Nandita Bose; Written by Tyler Clifford in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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