Under mounting pressure, US President to sign executive order protecting access to abortion

WASHINGTON: According to people familiar with the matter, US President Joe Biden will take executive action Friday to protect access to abortion, amid pressure from Democrats to get more forceful on the issue after the Supreme Court struck down a constitutional right to abortion two weeks ago.

The sources said that Biden will speak Friday morning "on protecting access to reproductive health care services". The actions that he would outline are intended to mitigate some of the penalties women seeking abortions may face but are limited in their ability to protect access to abortion nationwide.

It is expected that Biden would issue directives to the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services to roll back efforts to limit women's ability to access federally approved abortion drugs or cross state lines to access clinical abortion services. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Biden's actions before they were officially announced.

Biden's executive order will direct agencies to work to educate medical providers and insurers about how and when to share patient information with authorities — an effort to protect women who seek or use abortion services. He will ask the Federal Trade Commission to take action to protect the privacy of those seeking information about reproductive protection online.

The order comes as Biden faced criticism from some in his own party for not acting more urgently to protect women's right to access abortion after the high court's June 24 ruling that ended nationwide abortion rights and left it up to states to decide how to allow the procedure.

The decision in the case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned the Court's landmark 1973 Roe Wade decision. Biden has emphasized since the ruling came out that without congressional action, his ability to protect abortion rights through executive action is limited. "Ultimately, Congress is going to have to act to codify Roe into federal law," Biden said during a virtual meeting with Democratic governors last week.

The tasking of the Justice Department and HHS is expected to prompt agencies to fight in court to protect women, but it doesn't guarantee the judicial system will side with prosecutions of states that have moved to outlaw abortion.

With PTI inputs