President Biden spent much of his State of the Union speech last week talking about two subjects central to his reelection campaign while seemingly trying not to name them. One was Donald Trump, or as Biden called him, “my predecessor.” The other was abortion.
It’s hardly news that Biden, an 81-year-old devout Catholic, is uncomfortable talking about abortion rights — which he has supported for many years, though not always enthusiastically. The president took so long to utter the word after taking office that he inspired a satiric website: didbidensayabortionyet.org.
Restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade, which the Supreme Court overturned in 2022, was a key subject of his prime-time speech. Yet Biden managed to avoid saying the word “abortion.” Instead, he referred to Republican support for a “national ban on reproductive freedom” and talked about instances “when reproductive freedom was on the ballot.”
The word “abortion” appeared in prepared text for the speech in reference to first lady Jill Biden’s guest, Kate Cox. The Texas woman was denied an abortion under state law last year after her fetus was diagnosed with a terminal condition. But when Biden recognized Cox during the speech, he said Texas law “banned her ability to act.”
Asked at a Politico event Wednesday how she’d respond to people who want to hear Biden say the word “abortion” more often, his domestic policy adviser, Neera Tanden, said: “Look, he’ll say ‘abortion.’ He said it just a few weeks ago.”
“To me,” she added, “actions speak louder than words.”
Biden gets a pass on his queasiness with the word from abortion rights advocates, who say there’s no question it’s a priority for the president and his administration.
“Note where it was in the speech,” said Christina Reynolds of Emily’s List, a PAC that seeks to elect women who support abortion rights. Reproductive rights came second in Biden’s remarks only to a warning about threats to Ukraine, democracy and free elections.
The Biden administration “has legislative accomplishments they can point to” on the issue, Reynolds said, including legal moves to defend access to the abortion pill mifepristone and the responsibilities of doctors under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act; allowing members of the military leave and travel funding to obtain abortions if they’re stationed in states with bans; and allowing Veterans Affairs to provide abortion counseling.
On Monday, while presenting Biden’s fiscal 2025 health-care budget, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra repeatedly mentioned abortion rights. His wife is an obstetrician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies.
“We are doing what we can to fulfill the president’s mission to us to ensure that everyone in America has access to the health care that they need,” he told reporters.
Notable in the budget: Like other Democratic presidents, Biden aspires to do away with the Hyde Amendment, the long-standing appropriations language that generally prohibits federal tax dollars being used to provide abortions. Republicans annually ensure that the provision remains in U.S. law.
And Biden also proposed boosting funding for Title X services, which among other things support Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health-care providers — although they say the increase is inadequate.
“However Joe Biden feels about [abortion] personally,” Reynolds said, “he clearly believes it should be the woman’s decision.”
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