Biden vows to protect abortion rights against ‘extreme’ Texas law

WASHINGTON – President Biden on Thursday denounced the Supreme Court’s refusal to block a Texas law that bans abortion after six weeks, saying it “unleashes unconstitutional chaos” against women and promising his administration would investigate the how the federal government could protect existing constitutional rights to abortion. .

In a statement, the president said he had asked for gender-focused policy advice in the White House, the White House council office and the health and human services and justice departments to ” launch a whole-of-government project “. effort ”to respond to the court ruling.

“Complete strangers will now be empowered to inject themselves into the most private and personal health decisions women face,” Biden said. “This law is so extreme that it doesn’t even allow exceptions in cases of rape or incest.”

Texas law, known as SB 8, makes it difficult for authorities to enforce Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision that establishes the right to abortion up to the point of fetal viability, the point at which fetuses can sustain life outside the womb, or around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The law allows anyone to take legal action against anyone else involved in obtaining an abortion – including taxi drivers, receptionists or relatives who provide money for the procedure – which makes it difficult for abortion rights activists to challenge its restrictions in court. The law also further encourages complainants to appeal to female police officers who request the procedure by offering them $ 10,000, in addition to legal fees, if they win in court.

The law, as Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pointed out in statements this week, will disproportionately affect women of color: About 70% of abortions in Texas in 2019 were performed on women of color. , according to the Guttmacher Institute.

“Texas patients will now be forced to travel out of state or carry their pregnancies to term against their will,” Harris said Wednesday.

The Supreme Court’s vote to keep the law in force came with a 5-4 majority on Wednesday evening. In the unsigned majority decision, the judges sought to clarify that Texas law was still subject to tougher lawsuits against it. But even that, Biden said, “would allow millions of women in Texas in need of essential reproductive care to suffer while the courts consider procedural complexities.”

Siding with the liberal wing of the court, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote that he would have blocked the law as the appeals progressed.

“The legal regime in court is not only unusual, but unprecedented,” he wrote. “The legislature imposed a ban on abortions after about six weeks, then essentially delegated enforcement of that ban to the general population. The desired consequence appears to be to isolate the state from responsibility for the implementation and enforcement of the regulatory regime. “

So far, the White House has provided few details on what the president or members of his administration could actually do to thwart SB 8 or protect Roe v. Wade. In its next term, which begins in October, the Supreme Court will take up a separate case to decide whether it should be overturned.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on Wednesday that the president would “continue to call for the codification of Roe”, adding that the Texas law “further underscores the need to move forward on this. effort”.

Other Democrats have pledged to take action to protect abortion rights. President Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that SB 8 “was causing a catastrophe for women in Texas” and said the House of Representatives would pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would provide new protections for women. access to abortion, when lawmakers return from their summer vacation. It’s unclear whether this measure would garner the 60 votes needed to overcome a potential obstruction and be considered in the Senate.