Democrats and advocates have pushed the White House to take a stronger stance on codifying abortion access. Last month, Biden hinted that he was considering executive action, telling Jimmy Kimmel that while he believed Congress should codify Roe, “there are some executive orders that I could use, we think — we’re looking at it currently”. will push Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to take steps to ensure access to abortion, including FDA-approved medication abortion and expanded access “to the full range of reproductive health services,” according to a fact sheet that shared with CNN. Those services include “emergency contraception and long-acting reversible contraception such as intrauterine devices (IUDs),” the newsletter says, citing coverage of birth control under the Affordable Care Act. HHS is tasked with reporting within the next 30 days to the President on the implementation of the executive order’s provisions, which also include steps to increase access and protect the medical and digital privacy of patients seeking abortions. In addition, the order creates an interagency task force between HHS and the White House Gender Policy Council, which includes Attorney General Merrick Garland, which the White House says will provide “technical assistance to states that provide legal protections to patients out of state as well as providers offering legal reproductive health care.” This story is breaking and will be updated.
