U.S. President Joe Biden has responded to calls about protecting women's reproductive rights.
Biden signed an executive order Friday at the White House, designed to protect access to abortion despite efforts by some states to restrict the procedure following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court.
ABC News reported that the executive order directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to offer more options and protection for mobile clinics set up at some state lines to provide safe access to an abortion for those travelling out of state. ABC reported that the department is also ordered to "take additional action to protect and expand" access to medication abortion, emergency contraception and intrauterine devices (IUD).
The order also authorizes the U.S. Justice Department to "encourage robust legal representation of patients, providers, and third parties lawfully seeking or offering reproductive health care services throughout the country."
Biden's order is in response to growing criticism from Democrats to act after the conservative-leaning Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 ruling that gave women a constitutional right to an abortion. The decision reverts the question of allowing abortions to the individual states. The president had called the Court's decision "extreme" and "totally wrong".
The president also urged people on Friday to turn out at the polls during this midterm election season to elect Democrats to Congress who will be able to pass legislation to codify abortion access.
The Supreme Court's conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade because errors were made in the 1973 decision. Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion that abortion is not mentioned anywhere in the U.S. Constitution and is not a protected federal right. The Court's liberal-leaning minority dissented, saying that women should be allowed to choose what to do with their bodies.
Conservatives, including many Republicans and religious groups, celebrated the reversal, calling it a victory for the right to life and protection for the unborn.
Some states have passed or are about to pass laws that restrict abortion or ban it completely. In Michigan, for example, a 1931 law is on the books that outlaws the procedure, with the only exception being to save the mother's life. Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to determine if abortion is protected by the state's constitution. A petition drive to put the question of abortion on the November ballot is also underway, with supporters saying they have more than enough signatures.
