WASHINGTON – President Biden’s health secretary, criticized by other Democrats that the administration is not doing enough to oppose the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Rowe against Wade, said on Tuesday that there was no “magic bullet” to keep access to abortion – even when he outlines a series of steps his department will take to do so.
Xavier Bessera, the Minister of Health and Human Services, told reporters that, on Mr Biden’s instructions, he had instructed his agency to take a number of actions, including ensuring that federal programs cover medical abortion in cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.
At a morning press conference, Mr Besera said his department would work with the Justice Ministry to ensure that women have access to abortion pills – two different drugs taken 24 to 48 hours apart and allowed for the first 10 weeks. from pregnancy – in places where state legislation contradicts the decision of the Food and Drug Administration, which has approved the drugs for use and determined that they are safe and effective.
It will also require hospital emergency departments to comply with federal law, which requires them to stabilize patients who have undergone emergency medical care – including by performing an abortion if necessary. And it will take steps to ensure that patient records are private, to prevent government or local officials from identifying women who have had abortions.
But these steps may not go far enough for progressive Democrats and other defenders of reproductive rights. Some lawmakers, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, have pushed the administration to build abortion clinics on federal land and pay people to travel outside the state to seek abortion.
From Opinion: The End of Rowe v. Wade
Commentary by Times opinion and columnists on the Supreme Court’s decision to terminate the constitutional right to abortion.
These were not among the measures Mr Besera announced on Tuesday, and he expressed a note of caution about what the administration can and cannot do. There are still complex legal issues that need to be resolved, he said, to ensure the administration does not violate the court’s ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.
“It was a long decision and set a 50-year precedent, so you want to make sure that what you are doing is within the law,” Mr Besera said. “We are not interested in becoming frauds.”
He called the court’s decision “disgusting” and at one point said he wanted to “apologize” that the administration could do no more. “There is no magic bullet,” he said, “but if there is anything we can do, we will find it and we will do it.”
The administration has researched but remains skeptical about hosting abortion clinics in federal enclaves such as military bases and national parks – where prosecutors have no jurisdiction – in states where abortion is now a crime.
The problem, according to officials familiar with internal discussions, is that the federal government cannot guarantee that non-federal doctors on duty – and potentially patients – will not be at risk of prosecution. White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre dismissed the idea on Tuesday, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that it could have “dangerous consequences” for women and doctors.
If a Republican wins the presidency in 2024, his or her Department of Justice can charge people with abortion crimes under state law – and the statute of limitations for behavioral charges dating back to 2022 will not expire. States may revoke doctors’ medical licenses. And prosecutors could try to charge people with related behavior that happened outside the enclave – such as helping women get there – according to aiding or abetting theory.
Offering financial assistance to women to cross state borders to have an abortion can also be problematic for the administration because it could violate Hyde’s so-called amendment, which bans the use of federal abortion funds except in cases of rape. or incest. or when the mother’s life is in danger. Mr Becerra was asked on Tuesday whether the Ministry of Health and Social Services could provide such financial assistance.
“Once employees understand exactly what we believe we are capable of doing and have the money to do, we will let you know,” he said. “But until then, what I can just tell you is: Every option is on the table.
One of the areas in which the administration can act is to ensure that women have access to emergency contraception – the so-called morning-after pills, also known as Plan B – and intrauterine devices. Both are common methods of contraception, but opponents of abortion consider them “abortions” and in some states have tried to restrict access to them.
Some family planning clinics in states that ban abortions say their Plan B supplies are running low because women – fearing the pills will be banned – are stockpiling. Hailey Kramer, a practicing nurse at Tri-Rivers Family Planning in Rolla, Missouri, said Monday that the clinic’s provider was struggling with growing demand and that the pills had been ordered back after the latter’s draft of the Row Month opinion expired. .
Mr Becerra also said he had ordered Medicare and Medicaid service centers to take action against states, including Missouri, that excluded Planned Parenthood, a major birth control provider, from Medicaid’s family reimbursement programs. for such services.
“We will make it clear that family planning providers can participate in the Medicaid program,” he said.
Add Comment