UNITED STATES: On Friday, the POTUS, Joe Biden, delivered impassioned remarks, strongly condemning the Supreme Court majority’s monumental decision to overturn the landmark Roe vs Wade (1973) verdict and end the constitutional right to abortion. This supposedly ‘pro-life’ decision denies the legal right to access safe abortion, limiting women’s right to individuality, safety and liberty. Biden put his words into action, and signed an executive order thereof, to try and protect abortion rights under mounting pressure from fellow Democrats and White House protesters to be more assertive and responsive to the ruling.
Biden’s executive order seeks to safeguard and legally ensure access to reproductive healthcare nationwide, including access to surgical and medication abortion as well as contraception; protecting patient privacy and knowledge of right information; promoting the safety of patients, healthcare providers and facilities, and harmonising federal efforts with state-level infrastructure to ensure such activities take place smoothly.
Outlined in the executive order (EO) is also the clause that the Biden administration will leave no stones unturned and also convene private pro bono attorneys, bar associations and public interest organisations to help provide legal representation to patients, providers and other third parties “lawfully seeking or offering reproductive health care services throughout the country.”
While the red states have completely banned abortions forthwith, healthcare providers in other states have reported an abundance of patients coming in from these states, seeking an abortion. However, such a rise has already alarmed health services since the waiting period will likely slow procedures down.
Biden, therefore, urges the American people to vote and stake their claim to reproductive rights, saying, “You, the women of America, can determine the outcome of this issue.” He emphasised the courts had no “clue about the power of American women” and persistently coaxed the people to get out there and “vote, vote, vote.”
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