Biden launches federal effort to respond to Texas law as he faces pressure to protect abortion

A new Texas law that effectively bans most abortions prompted President Joe Biden on Wednesday to use a word he'd entirely avoided as president: "Abortion."

The absence of the word in Biden's public remarks and statements has frustrated activists, who say it reflects an issue that fell off the priority list even as women's right to an abortion comes under threat in states across the Midwest and South.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday night formally denied a request from Texas abortion providers to freeze the state law, meaning it will remain on the books for now. Abortion providers...