Impassioned Biden signs order on abortion access

President Joe Biden asked Americans to vote if they are upset with the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade. He signed an executive order to try to protect access to the procedure. Anything more would require a vote of Congress.

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National News

July 8, 2022 - 3:13 PM

President Joe Biden pauses as he delivers remarks on Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Services in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Friday, July 8, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday condemned the “extreme” Supreme Court majority that ended a constitutional right to abortion and delivered an impassioned plea for Americans upset by the decision to “vote, vote, vote vote” in November. Under mounting pressure from fellow Democrats to be more forceful in response to the ruling, he signed an executive order to try to protect access to the procedure.

The actions Biden outlined are intended to head off some potential penalties that women seeking abortion may face after the ruling, but his order cannot restore access to abortion in the more than a dozen states where strict limits or total bans have gone into effect. About a dozen more states are set to impose additional restrictions.

Biden acknowledged the limitations facing his office, saying it would require an act of Congress to restore nationwide access to the way it was before the June 24 decision.

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