Joe Biden made the announcement while on vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, that he is thinking about a public health emergency because of the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade so that federal resources may be used for abortions.
Biden also urged the frequently violent protestors who have damaged property and harassed Supreme Court justices at their homes and in public.
“Keep protesting,” Biden urged. “Continue to make your point. It’s essential.”
Pro-abortion protesters demonstrate in Los Angeles, CA, on June 27, 2022.
In statements to reporters after a bike ride close to his family’s Delaware beach house, the president said he does not have the authority to force the dozen or so states with strict limitations on abortion or complete bans on it to allow the procedure.
“I can’t say that we’re going to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land,” Biden opined. “Congress would have to codify that right, and it would have more of a chance in the future if more people voted for pro-choice legislators.”
“The rights of women, I think we’re trying to do a lot of things to accommodate them right now,” Biden said. “We’re even thinking about declaring a public health emergency to free up federal resources,” something advocates have pushed for. But White House officials have questioned both its usefulness and legality, and they’ve pointed out that it will almost certainly have legal challenges.
However, on Friday, Jen Klein, the head of the White House Gender Policy Council, disputed Biden’s statement. “It didn’t appear to be a good option,” she said.
“We learned a few things when we took a look at the public health emergency: One is that it does not free up very many resources; another is that there isn’t much money in the public health emergency fund,” Klein said to reporters, according to Politico. “So that didn’t appear to be an appealing choice.”