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| Mr Biden's new executive order beefs up protection against potential penalties that women seeking abortion may face if they travel across state lines for the procedure, and protects access to contraception. It includes measures to safeguard access to abortion medication.(Photo by=Alex Wong) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] President Joe Biden has said federal law would be the "fastest way" to restore abortion rights as he signed an order to safeguard abortion access. He called a recent Supreme Court abortion ruling, which ended the nationwide right to the procedure, "an exercise in raw political power", BBC reported.
It paved the way for individual US states to decide if and how to allow abortions. Mr. Biden has faced pressure to respond to the ruling with bolder action. The presidential order, signed on Friday, is expected to have a limited impact - to mitigate some of the restrictions but not fully restore abortion rights. Mr. Biden has maintained that his ability to institute abortion rights is limited without action from the US Congress.
"The fastest route to restore Roe is to pass a national law codifying Roe," Mr. Biden said, referring to the landmark 1973 ruling that guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion. In his remarks, he emphasized this was an issue for the coming midterm elections and urged people to vote in Democratic majorities as the fastest way to bring Roe V Wade back, and said that US voters had a choice between "the mainstream or the extreme".
