Joe Biden, who has been criticized for his perceived timid defense of abortion rights, on Friday called on voters, and women in particular, to vote en masse in the next general election to avoid a “runaway” Supreme Court and the “extreme” Projects to counteract the Republicans on privacy.
• Also read: In the United States, the end of abortion rights threatens access to certain medicines
• Also read: A law in Congress to restore abortion rights?
“For heaven’s sake, there will be an election in November, vote, vote, vote,” demanded the American President in a short and combative speech in the White House.
And if the Republican Party wins that election and passes legislation banning abortions nationwide, Joe Biden has promised to “veto” it.
For Joe Biden, his intervention, the pretext for which was the signing of a decree on a series of regulatory measures with a very limited scope, is above all an attempt to regain control in the face of persistent criticism from within his own camp.
Many Democrats and activists believe the president and his administration, who appeared surprised on June 24 by a predictable Supreme Court ruling against abortion rights, should do more, or else be more politically aggressive.
Joe Biden said he’s confident a “record number” of American women will vote in the midterm elections scheduled for November, acknowledging “this is the quickest way” to restore abortion rights across the country through federal legislation.
The President unleashed his blows at the “runaway” Supreme Court, which ended the constitutional right to abortion enjoyed by all Americans since 1973, and at the “radical” positions of the Republican Party.
“Now is the time… to protect the nation from an extremist project” that could also challenge the right to contraception or marriage for everyone, Joe Biden said.
The 79-year-old Democrat was also deeply moved by the fate of a 10-year-old girl who was pregnant after being raped and was forced to leave her state of Ohio to have the pregnancy terminated.
“10 years, 10 years,” he repeated snippy, “put yourself in that little girl’s shoes!”
The President wants to act
Joe Biden then signed an executive order that launched a series of limited-scope initiatives to protect abortion access and the Constitution.
Among other things, the White House promises to “protect sensitive health information” and “fight digital surveillance”.
Many activists are warning of the dangers of online data, geolocation or menstrual cycle monitoring apps being misused to track women who have had abortions.
The text, signed on Friday, also provides for protecting mobile abortion clinics on the external borders of states that have banned abortions.
The White House also wants to guarantee access to contraception, particularly the morning-after pill and IUDs.
The US executive branch also intends to organize a network of volunteer lawyers to help women on the legal front.
These announcements are necessarily limited in scope. Despite his reputation for power, the American president cannot do much when, like Joe Biden, he has to fight a Supreme Court and numerous warring states without a solid parliamentary majority.
However, many Democrats already fear that the attempted electoral mobilization will come from an unpopular president, while runaway inflation is households’ top concern.
Beyond abortion rights, some wonder if Joe Biden, a relentless centrist who hates to brag, is cut out to confront an increasingly virulent American right in an increasingly acrimonious political climate.
One need only read the editorials that have followed one another in recent days, including in supposedly progressive or centre-left newspapers: “Is Joe Biden the wrong President at the wrong time?” The Washington Post recently wondered, while The Atlantic asked : “Is Biden a man of his time?”