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On the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade,President Joe BidenandVice President Kamala Harrisare making a call to action as several states try to implement restrictive abortion laws amid court challenges.
Biden, 79, shared a statement onTwitterSaturday to mark the landmark Supreme Court decision of 1973 that granted women the right to an abortion in every state.
Harris, 57, also shared a video message onTwitter, vowing to fight “to protect a woman’s right to choose.”
“Roe v. Wade advanced women’s equality and that case saved women’s lives,” she said, adding, “The proponents of overturning Roe have been clear. They want to take away that right in every state. We will fight to protect a woman’s right to choose.”
“The constitutional right of women to make decisions about their own bodies is not an abstract concept. It saves women’s lives,” Harris continued. “So, on this 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, let us recommit to doing everything we can to protect those constitutional rights.”
Over the weekend, Biden and Harris also issued a joint statement on theWhite House websitereiterating their pledge to spearhead the right for women’s reproductive rights.
“We are deeply committed to protecting access to health care, including reproductive health care—and to ensuring that this country is not pushed backwards on women’s equality,” the pair said.
The statement continued: “In recent years, we have seen efforts to restrict access to reproductive health care increase at an alarming rate. In Texas, Mississippi, and many other states around the country, access to reproductive health care is under attack. These state restrictions constrain the freedom of all women. And they are particularly devastating for those who have fewer options and fewer resources, such as those in underserved communities, including communities of color and many in rural areas.”
According to the release, the administration is working to codify Roe v. Wadeand is taking steps toward protecting access to abortion care throughout the nation via the Women’s Health Protection Act.
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“All people deserve access to reproductive health care regardless of their gender, income, race, zip code, health insurance status, immigration status, disability, or sexual orientation. And the continued defense of this constitutional right is essential to our health, safety, and progress as a nation,” said Biden and Harris.
In 2021, a record106 restrictions on abortionsbecame law in the U.S.
“We’ve entered into a new, more restrictive phase in 2021 because we now have a solidly anti-abortion Supreme Court,” Elizabeth Nash, state policy analyst atthe Guttmacher Institute, a research group focused on abortion rights, previously told PEOPLE.
If Roe is overturned, “then I would expect in fairly short order we would start to see states, particularly the South, the Plains and Midwest, look to adopt abortion bans,” Nash said. Twelve states, including Mississippi and Texas,have “trigger” lawsin place that would automatically ban abortions ifthat happens.
source: people.com
