President Joe Biden's administration and reelection campaign on Monday both highlighted the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling as they seek to put a spotlight on abortion, an issue they believe will be a motivating issue for Democrats in November.
The president marked the day by convening his task force on reproductive healthcare access at the White House. During the meeting, Biden heard directly from physicians on the frontlines, as well as key members of his Cabinet about implementation of the actions he has taken on the issue within his executive power since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022.
It marked the fourth meeting of the task force, which was created just weeks after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling, the decision that returned the issue of abortion access to individual states and sparked bans and restrictions on the procedure in states around the country.
“The cruelty is astounding – an affront on a woman’s dignity being told by extreme politicians to wait, to get sicker and sicker to the point where her life may be in danger before you can get the care you need,” Biden said at the top of the meeting. “That cruel reality is a result of extreme Republicans who, for years, have made it their mission to end Roe v. Wade decision,”
“These extreme laws have no place, no place in the United States of America,” Biden added.
But the issue has also galvanized voters nationwide, including in traditionally red states like Kansas and Ohio, where voters overwhelmingly backed measures codifying abortion rights. Democrats are making the issue a key focus for their 2024 campaign after a surprisingly strong midterm showing in 2022 and victories in several special elections nationwide since Roe was overturned. Support for abortion access has risen to record highs in recent polling in the aftermath of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health ruling.
“All of these bans, all of these restrictions, they’re not where the majority of the American people are,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre argued in an interview with Spectrum News which aired Monday. “Republican elected officials are not even standing with the American people.”
(Watch Spectrum News' full interview with Karine Jean-Pierre here.)
The administration on Monday announced new initiatives aimed at expanding access to a wider range of contraceptives as well as increasing awareness of what the White House believes are patients’ rights in emergency medical situations, including related to pregnancy.
The Treasury Department, Labor Department and Health and Human Services Department will issue new guidance that supports increased coverage of FDA-approved contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act while the Office of Personnel Management will boost access to contraception for federal workers, retirees, and family members.
The new education campaign will seek to inform women of their rights under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) by launching resources explaining the protections provided by the law and the process for submitting a complaint. The Department of Health and Human Services will also equip healthcare providers with training materials and build out a team to allow the department to better support hospitals in following the requirements.
The White House noted it believes EMTALA can include abortion services in some pregnancy related emergencies. The administration is currently making that argument in court, with the Supreme Court expected to rule on it by June.
While Biden was preparing to meet with his task force on policy in Washington, Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off her “Reproductive Freedom” tour in Wisconsin on Monday. Harris has emerged as a key voice for the administration on abortion and Biden thanked his vice president for her leadership at the top of Monday’s meeting.
On the campaign side, the president’s 2024 reelection team is putting a spotlight on the issue that has handed Democrats wins when it has been on the ballot across the country since Roe v. Wade’s overturning.
Biden and Harris, along with first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will dedicate their first joint rally of the election year to the issue on Tuesday in Virginia.
The campaign also held a series of events in key 2024 swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania, featuring mayors, members of Congress and state representatives. Events will also take place in South Carolina, which will hold the first DNC-recognized Democratic primary of the election year next month, as well as Florida and North Carolina, states the president is targeting in November.
Over the weekend, the campaign announced a new ad featuring an OBGYN in Texas who had to leave the state to seek an abortion after, according to the ad, she learned her life was at risk with her pregnancy. In the 60-second spot, Dr. Austin Dennard specifically blames former President Donald Trump, whose appointees on the high court voted to overturn Roe, for her situation.
The ad is set to air in battleground states during programming that serves younger, female audiences, such as "The Bachelor," according to the campaign. It will also hit the airwaves during the NFL Conference Championships on Sunday.
While Trump has touted his role in paving the way for Roe’s reversal, he has criticized state laws that emerged in its wake banning abortion at very early on in a pregnancy. In September, he called the six-week ban in Florida, signed by former 2024 GOP presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis, “a terrible mistake.”
At Monday’s task force meeting, Biden renewed his call for Congress to pass a law restoring Roe.
“Congress must codify Roe v. Wade for all the states in America,” Biden said.
Spectrum News' Evan Koslof contributed to this report