Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'This Is An Emergency': Democrats Press Biden To Protect Abortion
Politico: Democratic Exasperation Builds At Biden's Slow Roll On Roe
When it comes to protecting abortion rights, Democrats want Joe Biden to get aggressive. And fast. Frustration is building among liberals over what some see as a slow executive response from the president, despite weeks to prepare following POLITICO’s publication of a draft majority opinion forecasting the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. White House officials contend that things are more complicated than they seem, but that’s doing little to turn down the temperature in the party. (Everett, Ferris, Cancryn and Lemire, 6/27)
The Boston Globe: Democrats Push Biden To Do More To Expand Abortion Access After Roe Reversal
Congressional Democrats are pressuring President Biden to take aggressive steps to protect abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, pinning their hopes for now on executive action because of the near impossibility of passing national legislation to stop bans in Republican-controlled states. But despite a push that began weeks ago after a leaked draft court opinion, Biden has taken only limited steps since the decision was released Friday to preserve women’s access to abortion. He vowed to protect the rights of women to travel to another state to seek an abortion and to access federally approved abortion medication through the mail, but has stopped short of issuing executive actions that would put him in direct conflict with GOP-led states and potentially the Supreme Court, such as offering abortions on federal property. (Puzzanghera, 6/27)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Bush Calls On Biden To Declare ‘Public Health Emergency’ Due To Roe Ruling
U.S. Rep. Cori Bush on Monday called on President Joe Biden’s administration to declare a “public health emergency” in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing states to outlaw abortion. “This is an emergency, and it demands an emergency response,” Bush said at a news conference in Mayor Tishaura O. Jones’ office. “This is why I’m calling on the administration to declare the attack on abortion rights a public health emergency.” Bush, D-St. Louis, said the administration should use its executive authority to “open up resources for abortion services” and expand and protect access to abortion pills. (Schlinkmann, 6/27)
The Washington Post: Frustration, Anger Rising Among Democrats Over Caution On Abortion
A senior White House official said Biden is simply being honest with the public about what he can do unilaterally, adding that the president is “taking major actions under executive authority as he fights this extreme decision very hard — but being clear and honest that only Congress can fix the situation.” White House officials note that the administration has moved to protect access to the so-called abortion pill even in states that try to ban it, and that the president has pledged to protect women who seek to travel across state lines to get an abortion. (Abutaleb, Wootson Jr. and Sotomayor, 6/27)
In other abortion news from the Biden administration —
NBC News: White House Downplays Prospect Of Providing Abortion Services On Federal Lands
The White House signaled Monday that it is not pursuing a Senate Democratic proposal that says the Biden administration could offer abortion services on federal lands after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week. Just days after the court ruled to strike down the landmark 1973 decision that guaranteed abortion rights nationwide, a White House official said that the Democratic proposal was “well-intentioned” but that it “could put women and providers at risk.” (Lederman and Richards, 6/27)
Los Angeles Times: Kamala Harris Warns Abortion Rights Are Only The Beginning
Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the landmark decision legalizing abortion, is likely to endanger other rights, including those of gay marriage and birth control. She said Justice Clarence Thomas, who cast doubt on those rights in a concurring opinion, was merely saying “the quiet part out loud” as the court’s conservative wing increasingly asserts itself. (Brewster, 6/27)
In other political news —
Texas Tribune: Beto O’Rourke Vows To Repeal Texas Abortion Ban If Elected
In the days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Democrats at rallies and protests in Texas said the November election is key for protecting reproductive rights. In an interview after a Sunday rally in Austin, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke told The Texas Tribune he would work to repeal Texas’ abortion ban and expand access to reproductive health care if he is elected. Rochelle Garza, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, said she would partner with other lawyers to stop enforcement of the state’s abortion laws. (Dey, 6/27)
The New York Times: Mitch McConnell’s Court Delivers
Mitch McConnell is indisputably a chief architect — if not the chief architect — of the conservative court that has shaken the nation over the past week with a string of rulings on abortion, guns and religion — a trifecta of searing cultural issues. While much of the public recoiled at the decisions and the prospect of more to come in the years ahead, Mr. McConnell, a deep admirer of Justice Antonin Scalia, saw the culmination of a personal push to reshape the court in the image of the conservative judicial icon. Mr. McConnell said his goal had been “to move us back to where Scalia would have taken us to a textualist, originalist majority. And we have that for the first time in history.” (Hulse, 6/27)
