President Biden wants to codify a national right to abortion, but as he reminded American voters on Tuesday, he’s going to need a majority of pro-abortion lawmakers to do it.
In remarks delivered at a Democratic National Committee event at the Howard Theatre in Washington, the president repeated the false claim that women will be unable to get treatment for miscarriages, and that pro-life laws prevent doctors from practicing medicine. Capitalizing on this, he attempted to paint lawmakers in favor of pro-life protections as “extreme” and promised to veto any pro-life bill passed by Congress.
“The only sure way to stop these extremist laws that are — put in jeopardy women’s health and rights is for Congress to pass a law,” President Biden said. “And I’ve said before: The Court got Roe right nearly 50 years ago, and I believe Congress should codify Roe once and for all. ”
Today @POTUS is making clear that we've got to do whatever it takes to protect abortion rights and access for EVERY body across the country! #FightBackForFreedom pic.twitter.com/EsVyzV2qh6
— NARAL (@NARAL) October 18, 2022
And with the “inflection point” of the midterms in the balance, the President promised to do just that: “Here is the promise I make to you and the American people, the first bill I’ll send to Congress is to codify Roe v. Wade,” and added, “If you care about the right to choose, then you’ve got to vote.”
“With your support, I’ll sign a law codifying Roe in January. Together, let’s remember who we are,” he said, setting the date for the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, January 22, 2023.
The speech is consistent with Biden’s longtime promises to codify Roe v. Wade, dating back to his candidacy. In 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden released his “Agenda for Women” in which, as Live Action News reported, he pledged to “work to codify Roe v. Wade,” and that “his Justice Department will do everything in its power to stop the rash of state laws that so blatantly violate Roe v. Wade.” In January 2021, on the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Biden reiterated his pledge: “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to codifying Roe v. Wade.”
As NPR points out, to realize Biden’s commitment would require the Senate either to exceed the 60-vote threshold required to overcome the filibuster, or to vote to abolish the filibuster in order to pass the law by a simple majority – something that two Democratic Senators, Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema, have refused to support in the currently evenly divided Senate.
Jeanne Mancini, the President of March for Life, pointed to Biden’s pledge as being out of step with voters. “President Biden’s desperate attempt to sway voters by pushing painful abortions is clear evidence of how out of touch he is. Ninety percent of Americans reject Biden’s view that abortion should be legal up until birth for any reason – paid for by taxpayers,” Mancini said, according to National Review.
“Catholics are appalled by the unprecedented abortion extremism pursued by the nation’s second Catholic President,” said Brian Burch, President of CatholicVote, according to National Review. “While Americans struggle with record inflation, the President of the United States has nothing to offer but a pledge to expand the right to violently destroy innocent unborn children – up until birth and for any reason.”
