President Biden made a stark attack on the Supreme Court during a press conference in Madrid on Thursday, accusing the judiciary of “outrageous behavior” in Rowe’s overturning of Wade last week – before adding that he supported Senate Democrats changing the 60-vote filibuster to codify abortion rights.
“The only thing that destabilizes is the outrageous behavior of the United States Supreme Court,” Biden told reporters at the end of this week’s NATO summit. “And the repeal not only of Rowe v. Wade, but essentially a challenge to the right to privacy. We are a world leader in personal rights and privacy. And I think that’s a mistake for the Supreme Court [to] do what you did. “
“I believe we need to codify Rowe against Wade in law, and the way to do that is to make sure Congress votes in favor,” Biden later said. “And if the filibuster interferes, we provide an exception.”
Biden answers questions from reporters after the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday. Reuters The president answered questions about Rowe against Wade, gas prices and the war in Ukraine.
Democrats once tried to enshrine the right to abortion in federal law, but failed to do so before the Supreme Court issued its ruling in the Dobbs case against the Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24.
In that ruling, the court upheld a Mississippi law banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy – and found that the last word on whether abortion should be legal was up to voters and their representatives. Following the decision, a number of countries introduced so-called “trigger laws” that banned or restricted abortion with immediate effect.
When Kelly O’Donnell of NBC News later pressured the president to support changing the filibuster, Biden clarified that the change was intended to strengthen “the right to confidentiality, not just the right to abortion.”
“But yes, abortion rights,” the president added.
Two moderate Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kirsten Cinema of Arizona, have opposed opposition to changing the chamber’s legislature, which requires 60 votes to pass most bills – an almost impossible Senate request from 50 to 50.
Biden initially spoke out against changing the Senate’s rules, saying last year that it would “throw the whole of Congress into chaos.” However, he later voiced support for changing the filibuster in January to pass two large-scale electoral reform bills. That effort failed when Manchin and Cinema voted against the so-called “nuclear option.”
Manchin and Cinema’s offices did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on Biden’s remarks.
Before the press conference ended, the president called on voters to express their dissatisfaction with the decision in the ballot box.
“I feel extremely strong that I will do everything I can legally to do with the executive orders, as well as urge Congress and the public,” Biden said. “The bottom line here is, if you care… and you think this court decision was an outrage or a significant mistake, vote, show up and vote. Vote in the extraordinary year and vote, vote, vote. That’s how we’ll change it. ”
The statement echoed Biden’s initial remarks after Friday’s ruling, which said: “Rowe is on the ballot this fall. Personal freedoms are on the ballot. The right to privacy, freedom and equality – they are all on the ballot. “
This is an evolving story.
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