In a letter, twenty-five Senate Democrats urged President Joe Biden to develop a plan at the federal level to defend reproductive rights, including using federal resources to increase abortion access nationwide.

What You Need To Know

  • A group of Senate Democrats called on President Joe Biden to develop a plan at the federal level to defend reproductive rights

  • The plan urges Biden to take a number of specific actions, including using federal resources and property to increase abortion access and increasing access to medication abortion

  • The letter comes in the aftermath of the leaked draft opinion which showed that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion nationwide

  • The Democratic lawmakers want to see Biden mandate a whole-of-government effort on reproductive rights

The letter, spearheaded by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., comes in the aftermath of the leaked draft opinion which showed that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion nationwide.

“Abortion access is under attack in the United States and already completely eliminated in swaths of the country,” the letter reads. “After decades of activism by Republican extremists, the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, reversing nearly 50 years of settled law and eviscerating the right to a legal abortion.”

“Anti-abortion violence is on the rise, with assaults and threats of harm against abortion providers more than doubling between 2016 and 2020,” the letter continues. “Anti-abortion politicians have introduced nearly 550 abortion restrictions in 42 states and passed radical laws completely banning abortion and placing bounties on providers offering medical services. And if Roe v. Wade is gutted by this right-wing Supreme Court, Republican leaders have already signaled their next move: a nationwide ban on abortion in all 50 states.”

The draft opinion was first published by Politico last month. News of the letter was first reported by NBC News.

The letter says that Americans across the country “must stand up against this unprecedented assault on women and their right to make decisions about their own bodies and lives” and called on President Biden to “marshal the resources of the entire federal government to respond.”

The group specifically calls on Biden to:

  • Use federal resources and property to increase abortion access, including directing the Justice Department to explore the “types of reproductive health services that could be provided on federal property, especially in states where such services are limited by state law or regulation”
  • Enforce Medicaid’s “Free of Choice Provider” rules, directing the Department of Health and Human Services to enforce federal requirements that beneficiaries can seek family planning services from their chosen medical provider
  • Allow federal agencies to provide vouchers for services including travel and child care for people seeking abortion care unavailable in their home states
  • Increase access to medication abortion
  • Clarify how websites and mobile applications that collect sensitive health and location data protect that information
  • Appoint an ombudsman at HHS to oversee reproductive health

“As extremist judges and Republican politicians intensify their efforts to strip Americans of their basic reproductive freedoms, you can demonstrate to the country and women everywhere that you will do everything in your power to fight back,” the lawmakers wrote.

“With each day that passes, this crisis will only worsen: if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, 26 states could instantly move to ban abortion, leading 36 million women to suddenly lose access to abortion and causing maternal mortality—which already disproportionately affects women of color—to drastically increase,” the letter continues. “We urge you to immediately issue an executive order instructing the leaders of every federal agency to submit their plans to protect the right to an abortion within 30 days.”

Citing previous whole-of-government responses the Biden administration has mandated, including ones related to addressing systemic racism, expanding voting rights and promoting competition in the economy, the lawmakers want to see Biden mandate a similar effort on reproductive rights.

“Now is the time for equally bold action to protect the right to an abortion,” they wrote, adding: “The dramatic escalation of attacks on abortion access— spearheaded by right-wing justices, lawmakers, and activists—demands comprehensive and creative strategies from every corner of the federal government.”

Other signatories of the letter include Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Ed Markey, D-Mass., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.