President Joe Biden dangled the prospect of unrestricted abortion to garner more votes for the Democratic Party, promising to prioritize the codification of Roe v. Wade if his party maintains its grip on Congress.
"The court got Roe right nearly 50 years ago and I believe Congress should codify [it] once and for all," Biden told supporters during an event in Washington, D.C.'s Howard Theatre. He exhorted attendees to vote in more Democratic senators during the gathering organized by the Democratic National Committee.
"If we do that, here's the promise I make to you and the American people. The first bill I will send to Congress will be to codify Roe v. Wade. And when Congress passes it, I'll sign it in January [2023] – 50 years after Roe was first decided [as] the law of the land."
The Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling created a federal "right to abortion" throughout all 50 states. Forty-nine years later in 2022, however, the high court overturned the decision in a 5-4 vote. The June 2022 overturn meant that the right to regulate abortion was returned to the states themselves. (Related: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, sending issue of abortion back to states where it always belonged.)
As soon as Roe v. Wade was overturned, several Republican states enacted trigger laws to outlaw infanticide in their respective jurisdictions. In response, several Democratic states pledged to become "abortion sanctuaries" for women seeking the procedure.
Biden called the Supreme Court decision a "mistake."
"I feel extremely strongly that I’m going to do everything in my power, which I legally can do in terms of executive orders, as well as push the Congress and the public," he said.
Biden later signed an executive order aimed at expanding abortion access in the country. However, this failed to satisfy abortion advocates as it stopped short of declaring a public health emergency or allowing abortion facilities on federal land.
Biden lacks support from House Democrats
The president's allies in both houses of Congress likewise failed to address the repercussions of the Roe overturn. The Women's Health Protection Act that sought to codify the abortion ruling failed twice during voting on the floor – 48-46 in February 2022 and 51-49 in May 2022.
The Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), have the majority in the lower chamber. Meanwhile, the Republicans and the Democrats have equal numbers in the upper chamber. To achieve their goal of codifying abortion into federal law, the Democratic Party needs to maintain control of the House of Representatives and gain a majority in the Senate during the November 2022 midterms.
However, American voters have more pressing concerns as they head to the polling places.
According to a Gallup poll conducted from Sept. 1 to Sept. 6, three major issues are of utmost importance for voters. Twenty-two percent of respondents cited the government, including Biden's poor leadership, as an issue. Inflation followed with 17 percent of respondents mentioning it, and 12 percent of respondents cited the economy in general.
Only four percent of the Gallup poll's participants cited abortion as a pressing concern. Race relations ranked higher with five percent citing it as a key issue, while six percent mentioned immigration.
The poll also asked participants which political party can do a better job of handling the problem they think needs immediate fixing. Almost half of Americans – 48 percent – said the GOP can do a better job. Only 37 percent put their trust in the Democratic Party, while 15 percent said they do not see either party capable of fixing the issue.
VoteDemocrat.news has more stories about the Democratic Party as the midterm elections near.
Watch this video that shows how the GOP-controlled Senate struck down the Women's Health Protection Act in May.
This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Planned Parenthood banking on $50M budget to rally pro-abortion voters.
Biden signs executive order promoting abortion on demand following Roe v. Wade overturn.
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