US President Joe Biden said Friday that federal legislation offered the fastest route to restoring US abortion rights and urged voters to elect pro-choice legislators in upcoming elections in defiance of an “out of control” Supreme Court.
Under pressure to take a tougher line on defending women’s reproductive rights, Biden signed an executive order aimed at shoring up access to abortion after what he described as the court’s “terrible, extreme” decision to remove the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.
But the president, whose room for manoeuvre on the issue is limited, said the most effective response would be made through the ballot box in the November mid-term elections by handing him firm control of the legislature.
“Vote, vote, vote,” he said in an appeal particularly aimed at American women.
“The fastest route to restore Roe is to pass a national law codifying Roe, which I will sign immediately upon its passage at my desk. We cannot wait,” Biden said, referring to the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that established the right to abortion.
If Republicans were to take control of Congress, he also vowed to veto any effort to pass a federal ban on abortion.
“We cannot allow an out of control Supreme Court working in conjunction with extremist elements of the Republican Party to take away freedoms and our personal autonomy,” he said.
Biden has been criticized from within his own Democratic Party for perceived inaction since the Supreme Court ruling on June 24.
After the ruling, several states have banned or severely restricted abortion and others are expected to follow suit.
