Biden’s top priority for a second term: restoring abortion rights
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“The president has been adamant that we need to restore Roe. It is unfathomable that women today wake up in a country with less rights than their ancestors had years ago,” Fulks said.
Biden has been poised to run on what has been described as the strongest abortion rights platform of any general election candidate as he and his allies look to notch a victory in the first presidential election since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
Last month, Biden seized on a case in Texas, where a woman, Kate Cox, was denied an abortion despite the risk to her life posed by her pregnancy.
“No woman should be forced to go to court or flee her home state just to receive the health care she needs,” Biden said of the case. “But that is exactly what happened in Texas thanks to Republican elected officials, and it is simply outrageous. This should never happen in America, period.”
The minute he gets elected "whoops I forgot I can't do shit without the Senate. Sorry everybody"
I mean, his administration has done lots of things within their power to help protect reproductive rights. You're not wrong they'd need the senate to codify roe v wade or even be able to get a judge on the supreme court. They'd probably need to end the filibuster to get it through too.
Here's a summary of some of the executive actions they have taken. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/08/politics/what-is-in-biden-abortion-executive-order/index.html
His administration has also launched multiple lawsuits across the country trying to protect abortion rights, and defended against Republican lawsuits trying to restrict them further. Having all these federal agencies making rules and regulations trying to support rather than restrict reproductive rights is still important.
So you're right that he can't codify roe v wade nationally without senate and house control as well as getting rid of the filibuster or some miracle cooperation by republicans. But all of the executive actions, the resources of the justice department, etc could be used to attack reproductive rights rather than defend them if a republican were to be elected.
I’d argue he may even have gone beyond his power. While I wish he could have done more, an awful lot of what he completed is through executive decision, despite Congress. It seems like he’s had to go way beyond the norm for us as a democracy (while avoiding the craziness on the Trump regime). I only hope he hasn’t planted the seeds to increase authoritarianism, for whenever in the future someone I disagree with inevitably gets elected
Sounds like a whole lot of "fuck all" then.
Well it won't feel like "fuck all" when a Republican led FDA revokes authorizations for abortion medications, morning after pills, or maybe even birth control across the country, even in states where it's legal. Or sends federal law enforcement after doctors and others providing mail order abortion services. Or starts trying to withhold funding from states that supplement Medicaid to cover abortions. Or sues states trying to protect health information from anti abortion and anti trans states who want it to harass them. I mean the list of horrible possibilities goes on. The executive department can't do everything on its own, congress has the most power, but it is still important on its own. Not to mention needing a president friendly to reproductive rights to sign any bill that manages to get passed, or veto any unfavorable bills.
But seriously, save at least a little vitreol for the political party actively working to restrict reproductive Healthcare rights. If even a handful of Republican members of congress, a single digit percentage, were in favor of protecting reproductive rights, this would all be over yesterday. By all means though primary the crap out of any democrat not strongly supporting reproductive rights enough or not supporting overturning the filibuster to do so, I know I will.
Should've voted for someone better in the 2020 primaries then. You keep trying to guilt me into making better choices. I'm just turning it back around. Make better choices in the primaries.
The democrats did pass a bill codifying roe v wade though when they held the house then. Biden was in support and would have signed it. It failed in the senate. Not a single republican in support. 98% of democrats in support. Even ending the filibuster wouldn't have been enough as the lone democratic holdout and 50th senator needed was Manchin (pro life).
I'm just skeptical of the motives of all the people in this thread acting like Biden himself banned all abortions, could bring them back whenever he wanted, and is choosing not to out of some weird extortion scheme for the next election. None of that is even remotely true. And where is all the hate for all the people that did this in the first place and are actively working to make it even worse?!
I have no concerns that Biden would happily sign a bill codifying roe v wade if one were to make it to his desk, considering all he's done since taking office. I supported Sanders in the primaries, and I think his strong support was helpful at pushing Biden and the party platform further to the left in many areas, even if my preferred candidate didn't end up on top. For primaries I'm talking any senators who may be soft on this, though honestly the only two I know of are Manchin (who's leaving), or Sinema (which, yeah that whole situation, also not in the party anymore so job done). Or if you're a republican, pushing them. Would honestly be the most helpful thing of all to try and get more pro choice Republicans in office in red states.
Then they should've voted in 2008-2009. But they didn't because Democrats are procorporate pieces of shit.