June 28, 2022

Biden Calls on Congress to Codify a Right to Abortion

Following the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson decision overturning Roe v. Wade, President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass legislation codifying abortion rights into federal law.

The Supreme Court's ruling allows states, through their elected representatives, to decide for themselves how to deal with the issue of abortion.

“This decision is the culmination of a deliberate effort over decades to upset the balance of our law,” Biden said at a press conference on June 24. “The court has done what it has never done before, expressly take away a constitutional right that is so fundamental to so many Americans and had already been recognized. The court's decision to do so will have real and immediate consequences.”


Biden told the press that the only way to “secure a women’s right to choose” is for Congress to pass legislation creating a right to abortion. Notably, he added, "executive action can't do that."

The president did say that he would use his power to fight any attempts by state or local officials that would interfere with a woman's ability to travel to pro-abortion states for abortion. He also said that he directed the HHS to "take steps" to ensure mifepristone, the first drug in the abortion pill regimen, is "available to the fullest extent possible."

Finally, Biden condemned pro-abortion violence in response to the court's decision. “I call on everyone no matter how deeply they care about this decision to keep all protests peaceful. Peaceful. Peaceful. Peaceful. No intimidation. Violence is never acceptable. Threats and intimidation are not speech. We must stand against violence in any form regardless of your rationale,” he said.