President Joe Biden is considering executive action in making abortion pills accessible nationwide, despite state laws restricting the drug.
According to Politico, White House officials say the move on abortion pills “could have the most immediate on-the-ground impact while also quelling Democrats’ demands for stronger action.”
The administration may use executive power granted under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act that will allow abortion providers and pharmacists to distribute chemical abortion pills, despite several states having laws restricting the medication.
The PREP Act option will protect abortion providers from criminal prosecution, however White House staffers are skeptical, noting that the emergency actions could survive inevitable legal challenges in court, adding that they fear some cases will have to stand up against conservative judges.
This comes after over 80 Democrats urged Biden to declare a public health emergency on abortion.
“While it is impossible to immediately undo the damage inflicted by the Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v. Wade, the Biden-Harris Administration must use every tool within its power to fight back,” the letter read adding, “We urge you to declare national and public health emergencies over Americans’ access to reproductive care.”
Democrats have been unsuccessful at legalizing abortion, so much so that they have brought a bill forward three times just this year aimed at legalizing abortion throughout the entire duration of pregnancy all 50 U.S. states.
Immediately after Roe was reversed, I laid out how our Administration would use executive action to protect a woman’s right to travel across state borders to get the care she needs.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 14, 2022
Today, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would make that right a law. https://t.co/y86RWyziKl