REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (Fwrd Axis) — President Joe Biden said Sunday he is considering declaring a public health emergency to allow federal resources to promote abortion access despite the White House disagreeing with the move.
Speaking to reporters at his family’s Delaware beach house, Biden said he lacks the power to force states that banned abortion to allow the procedure.
“I don’t have the authority to say that we’re going to reinstate Roe v. Wade as the law of the land,” he said.
The President added his administration is currently trying to do “lot of things to accommodate the rights of women”, which includes considering declaring a public health emergency to free up any federal resources. That is a move that has been pushed by abortion advocates and progressive Democrats but the White House previously been against the idea, questioning its legality and effectiveness.
Biden said Sunday he’s asked his team “to look at whether I have the authority to do that and what impact that would have.”
The President has come under fire from Democrats over a lack of fire in responding to states banning abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24.
The Biden administration also directed the Federal Trade Commission to begin taking steps to protect the privacy of people who are looking for information about abortion services.
The news comes after Jen Klein, the director of the White House Gender Policy Council, said during last week’s press briefing the move “didn’t seem like a great option.”
“When we looked at the public health emergency, we learned a couple things: One is that it doesn’t free very many resources,” she said. “It’s what’s in the public health emergency fund, and there’s very little money — tens of thousands of dollars in it. So that didn’t seem like a great option. And it also doesn’t release a significant amount of legal authority. And so that’s why we haven’t taken that action yet.”
