United States President Joe Biden is set to meet with Democratic governors after he gave a warning on Friday that Republican lawmakers will seek a nationwide abortion ban and arrest women crossing state lines to get the procedure.
The attempt would be conducted if Republicans win the majority in November and Biden warned that states that already had restrictions in place will seek the arrest of women seeking care elsewhere. The Democratic president said that despite not many believing it would happen, the ban and arrests are expected to happen in the future.
Potential Nationwide Abortion Ban
Biden's remarks were made during a virtual meeting with Democratic governors from nine states, including those from New York, Illinois, and Oregon, who have committed to protecting women's abortion rights.
Following the Supreme Court's ruling to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, states now regulate abortion by themselves. On Thursday, Biden returned to Washington after traveling to Europe. He attended the Group of Seven and NATO summits, saying during a news conference in Madrid that he supports a carveout of the filibuster for abortion rights, as per USA Today.
During the meeting, Biden acknowledged that Democrats do not currently have enough votes to change the filibuster rules. He predicted that if his party fails to keep its majority in the Senate, Republicans would take advantage of the situation and pass a "nationwide prohibition consistent with what the Supreme Court ruled."
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Biden added that the choice was clear; either Americans elect federal senators and representatives who will codify Roe or try to ban abortion nationwide. He said that things will go one way or the other after the November midterms.
According to the Washington Post, the situation comes after the U.S. president said that he announced two specific actions last week. The first is that if extremist governors prevent a woman from traveling to other states to get an abortion, the federal government will protect her bedrock rights through the attorney general's office.
Women's Right to Abortion
The second is that the Biden administration would ensure that women across the nation are able to purchase and receive abortion medication that has already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The situation comes as there are at least 13 states in the United States that immediately banned abortion or will do so soon following the Supreme Court's ruling. As soon as Roe v. Wade was overturned, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and Alabama immediately enforced abortion bans.
On the other hand, blue states, such as New York and California, will continue to allow the termination of pregnancies. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who spoke just after Biden during the meeting, detailed pending legislation that would "enshrine" the procedure in the Empire State.
However, some Democrats are still opposed to the idea of removing the Senate filibuster, including Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. A spokesperson for the lawmaker on Friday revealed her stance on the matter, a day after Biden made his comments about making an exception to codify abortion rights in federal law, ABC News reported.
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