President Biden didn’t hold back during a Monday meeting of his reproductive rights task force, denouncing GOP-led state efforts to restrict access to abortion as “cruel” and “outrageous.”
The remarks came during a meeting of more than two dozen senior administration officials, along with physicians who practice in states with abortion bans. It was held at the White House to mark the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Mr. Biden recounted the story of a Texas woman he said was blocked from being able to have an abortion even after being told that her life and the life of her unborn child were at risk during the pregnancy. She ultimately left the state to have the abortion, Mr. Biden said.
In 2021, Texas banned abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy. A year later, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a new Texas law went into effect that banned all abortions other than those intended to protect the life of the mother.
“The cruelty is astounding,” Mr. Biden said. “[It’s] an affront to a woman’s dignity, being told by extreme politicians to wait to get sicker and sicker to the point where her life may be in danger before you can get the care you need. That cruel reality is a result of extreme Republicans who for years made it their mission to end the Roe v. Wade decision.”
Mr. Biden convened the task force as part of his campaign’s full-court press this week to put abortion as one of the key issues in the presidential race. And it’s an effort to directly tie the state bans to former President Donald Trump, who appointed three pro-life conservatives to the Supreme Court and is expected to be Mr. Biden’s opponent in the presidential election.
The meeting began with remarks from Tani Malhotra, an Ohio gynecologist who talked about how the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, impacted women in her state. She said doctors were forced to choose between prosecution and helping patients.
But Ohio voters last November voted for new constitutional protections for abortion access and other reproductive rights.
“Dobbs took away the right to make deeply personal decisions and gave it to politicians who never had to sit with a patient and share the worst moments of their lives,” Ms. Malhotra said.
The Biden administration on Monday launched a series of initiatives to protect abortion access.
As part of the effort, the Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services departments will issue new guidance that would make no-cost contraceptives available under the Affordable Care Act and take a similar action to expand contraception access for federal employees.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra also will send a letter to health insurers instructing them of their obligation to provide no-cost contraceptives, according to a memo the White House provided to reporters. It will be part of the HHS effort to “educate all patients about their rights and to help ensure hospitals meet their obligations under federal law.”
The administration is also announcing what it called a “comprehensive plan” to increase awareness about access to emergency medical care required under the federal law known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The administration has maintained that it requires hospitals to provide emergency abortions nationwide.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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