(AFP) – US President Joe Biden fiercely defended reproductive rights Thursday in his annual address to Congress, warning Republican antiabortion lawmakers of the “power of women” and insisting the issue will be at the fore in November’s election.
Biden is making reproductive freedoms a defining theme of the campaign. The White House has highlighted the erosion of such rights since the conservative-dominated US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling which had protected abortion access nationwide, nearly two years ago.
His fellow Democrats have been keen to spotlight reproductive rights during Biden’s State of the Union speech, given how the issue has mobilized the party’s base, with several women whose lives have been upended by the politics of reproduction-care restrictions attending the speech as guests.
“Like most Americans I believe Roe v. Wade got it right,” Biden said in his televised address.
“Clearly those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women,” he added.
“But they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot — we won in 2022 and 2023 — and we’ll win again in 2024!” he said to a standing ovation from the Democratic side.
“If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.”
Biden is a devout Catholic, but as president he has stood firm in his support for abortion access.
Such protections have prevailed on every state ballot initiative related to the issue since Roe was overturned — as in conservative-leaning Ohio where voters approved a constitutional amendment ensuring access to abortion.
– ‘Look at the chaos’ –
Of the people sitting in First Lady Jill Biden’s guest box, at least two are key figures in the reproductive rights fight. The president spotlighted them both.
One is Kate Cox, a Texas mother who sued last year for the right to an abortion, but was forced to travel out of state for the emergency termination of her nonviable pregnancy.
Texas prohibits all abortions except in rare cases, and fearful of prosecution, Cox’s doctors told her their hands were tied.
Her case — a judge ruled in her favor, but the Texas Supreme Court reversed the decision — illustrates the quandary facing patients and doctors since the end of Roe.
Biden brought up the former president and likely 2024 campaign rival Donald Trump, saying: “He’s the reason (Roe) was overturned — and he brags about it. Look at the chaos that has resulted.”
“Many of you in this chamber, and my predecessor, are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom,” he said. “My god, what (other) freedom would you take away?”
Also present was Latorya Beasley of Alabama, whose in-vitro fertilization process was interrupted when the state’s Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos should be considered children.
Following the ruling, several Alabama clinics suspended their IVF programs for fear of lawsuits.
Helping showcase the IVF issue, the first person in the United States born via in-vitro fertilization (IVF), Elizabeth Carr in 1981, was at Thursday’s speech, a guest of Senator Tim Kaine.
IVF has proven a minefield for the Republican opposition, which defines itself as “pro-life” but finds itself largely at odds with the Alabama ruling.
After seeing a harsh response to the decision’s impacts — including from Trump — Alabama’s governor on Wednesday swiftly passed a bill protecting fertilization patients and clinics from prosecution. – Michael Mathes
© 2024 AFP
