Comment President Biden plans to outline additional steps aimed at strengthening abortion rights Friday morning, two weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wadeas many Democrats have called on him to respond with bolder and more urgent action. Biden, along with Vice President Harris, plans to deliver a speech from the Roosevelt Room in the White House about his efforts to protect access to reproductive health services. He also plans to sign an executive order that, according to a statement released late Thursday by the White House, will attempt to ensure access to abortion drugs and emergency contraception, protect patient privacy and strengthen legal options for those seeking access to such services. The order directs Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to submit a report within 30 days that will address many of these issues. Becerra is also charged with finding ways to increase public outreach so that those seeking reproductive health care services, including abortion, know how to access them. As some Democrats grow impatient with Biden, alternative voices are emerging In a nod to some of the legal battles that could come, Biden is also directing the attorney general and White House counsel to convene private pro bono attorneys, bar associations and public interest organizations to encourage legal representation for those seeking or offer reproductive health Services. “Such representation could include protecting the right to travel out of state to seek medical care,” according to the White House statement. Legal aid is one of the main concerns of some abortion rights advocates. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) urged the Biden administration Thursday to “remove all barriers,” pointing to legal barriers that could prevent Michigan residents from seeking services in Canada or bringing medicine back across the border. “At this dangerous, precarious time for women’s fundamental rights, we must be creative and take bold action,” Whitmer said in a statement accompanying the letter she sent to Biden administration officials. “We must lead.” Another area Biden’s executive order attempts to address is patient privacy. Biden is asking the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to consider measures to protect consumers’ privacy when they seek information about reproductive health services. HHS will also consider additional actions to prevent the disclosure of information about patients. Biden is also creating an interagency Task Force on Access to Reproductive Health, which will coordinate across the administration on other potential policies. Biden’s actions come two weeks after the Supreme Court suspended five decades of federal abortion rights and he has faced growing criticism for not having a more urgent response. With Roe overturned, Democrats are presenting a patchwork of countermeasures White House officials defended his moves, pointing to an opening speech he gave after the ruling and saying they did everything they legally could. But he has been accused of not using the moment to mobilize Democrats and of not speaking regularly and forcefully. Some also say the White House appeared flat-footed despite having plenty of time to formulate a plan after a draft Supreme Court ruling was leaked nearly two months earlier. Last week, Biden called for overturning the filibuster to help codify abortion rights, but has so far resisted other efforts that Democrats have been pushing him to take up. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) pressed Biden to expand the Supreme Court, for example, but confirmed she would not consider such a move. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was among those calling on him to open federal lands to abortion clinics, a tactic the White House rejected, saying it could jeopardize the safety of women traveling to the clinics.
