President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday that seeks to protect access to abortion, but said voters would have to elect more pro-choice senators in order to restore rights that existed under Roe v. Wade.
The executive order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a plan to expand access and dissemination of information about abortion, including medical abortion.
At a signing ceremony at the White House, Biden also denounced the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, calling it “outrageous, extreme and I think completely wrong.” He also said he believed the right to abortion was “embedded in the constitution.”
“The Court is now practically daring American women to go to the polls and take back the same rights they just took,” Biden said. “The quickest way to get roe back is to pass a national law codifying roe.”
Biden said voters would have to elect two more pro-choice senators to pass such a bill. He also became lively when discussing a recent case in which a 10-year-old rape victim was taken out of state for an abortion.
“It’s not some kind of imagined horror – it’s actually happening,” he said. “Imagine being that little girl… Should a 10-year-old girl be forced to have a rapist child? I can tell you what I know. I can’t think of anything much more extreme.”
Several states in the South and Midwest have banned abortion entirely, while others have imposed bans after six or 15 weeks. Many of the bans are pending litigation, and some legislatures are considering additional restrictions.
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