President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday intended to protect access to abortion, amid pressure from Democrats to act in response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
The “Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services” executive order directs Health and Human Services (HHS) to increase access to medication abortion, contraception and “reliable and accurate” education about abortions. It also intends to ensure greater safety assurances and privacy protection of patients and abortion providers by issuing guidance on how to protect personal information on mobile apps and to law enforcement.
The order additionally calls for the HHS to find volunteer lawyers to “encourage robust legal representation of patients, providers, and third parties” seeking or providing abortions, and setting up a Task Force with the White House Gender Policy Council.
Biden called on Americans to “go out and vote” while signing the executive order, a strategy he has repeatedly used when talking about abortion access.
“For God’s sake, there’s an election in November. Vote, vote, vote, vote,” Biden said.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday protecting access to abortion, two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The president also urged Americans to “vote, vote, vote, vote” in November. https://t.co/JaQ05gocYG pic.twitter.com/UOMi9U0QcQ
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 8, 2022
Besides the executive order, the Biden administration has announced announced $3 million in additional funding to “bolster training and technical assistance” for HHS-funded providers and clinics, and the HHS has launched a website providing information about abortion access.
Last week, Biden called on Congress to pass legislation codifying the federal right to abortion, saying there needs to be an exception to the filibuster to do so.