President Joe Biden has announced his intention to sign an executive order protecting access to abortions.
The press release of the presidential order outlined the administration’s attempt to protect access to abortion and contraception as well as provide safety to patients and abortion providers.
Biden’s move comes two weeks after the Supreme Court overturned the almost five-decade-old precedent of Roe v. Wade that offered federal protection for abortion.
“President Biden has made clear that the only way to secure a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe as federal law,” the White House’s announcement of the Executive Order stated.
The president’s announcement went on to say, “Until then, he has committed to doing everything in his power to defend reproductive rights and protect access to safe and legal abortion.”
Biden’s executive order instructs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take five steps within the next 30 days and report to the president.
Included in the steps outlined for HHS was the order to “protect access to medication abortions,” by ensuring that the medication was as “widely accessible as possible.”
The department of HHS also wants to ensure that “all patients” have access to “the full rights and protections,” namely those relating to emergency medical treatment.
The Biden administration also plans to protect access to contraception, including “long-acting reversible contraception.” The order states that the Affordable Care Act “guarantees” coverage of birth prevention services, including free birth control, in all 50 states.
“The Secretary of HHS has already directed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to take every legally available step to ensure patient access to family planning care and to protect family planning providers,” the order fact sheet states.
Other issues mentioned in connection with the order were educational outreach programs and an initiative to organize pro bono attorneys and legal groups.
The administration hopes to “encourage robust legal representation of patients, providers, and third parties lawfully seeking or offering reproductive health care services throughout the country. “
The White House also announced that they have already taken steps to support abortion providers and clinics, as well as providing paid leave for federal workers who feel the need to travel for reproductive medical care.
Pro-life groups have already begun speaking out against the order, saying it not only promotes abortion but false information about the current state of access to medical procedures necessary for women’s health.
Abortion activists falsely claim abortion bans prevent treating ectopic pregnancies.
— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) July 8, 2022
But Biden's executive order today will make it easier to buy abortion pills. Without an in-person consult with a doctor, the abortion pills can kill women with an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy.
“Abortion activists falsely claim abortion bans prevent treating ectopic pregnancies,” Life Site News said in its tweet about the order.
The group went on to say that “Biden’s executive order today will make it easier to buy abortion pills. Without an in-person consult with a doctor, the abortion pills can kill women with an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy.”