Biden Says Texas Abortion Ban Will Cause 'Unconstitutional Chaos'
AllSides Summary
President Joe Biden on Thursday called the newly-enacted Texas law that bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected an "unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights." The Heartbeat Act (SB 8), which took effect on Wednesday after the Supreme Court allowed it to stand, has received sharp dissenting reactions as the law empowers citizens to sue health care providers or any individual suspected of helping a woman get an abortion. Biden said his administration will launch a “whole-of-government effort to respond to this decision” and examine “what steps the federal government can take to ensure that women in Texas have access to safe and legal abortions as protected by Roe [v. Wade].” He also emphasized how the law is so extreme that it "does not even allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest."
Some left-rated outlets highlighted how Biden used the word "abortion" for the first time during a public remark or statement on Wednesday in his time as president. As a practicing Catholic, President Biden has been an inconsistent supporter of abortion rights but has moderated his views over time.
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From the Center
Biden warns of 'unconstitutional chaos' due to Texas abortion ban
A Texas law imposing a near-total ban on abortion that the U.S. Supreme Court allowed to stand will cause "unconstitutional chaos" by infringing on a right that women have exercised for almost a half-century, President Joe Biden warned on Thursday.
The court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, also raised questions about how it will rule on a more sweeping upcoming case that could curb abortion rights nationwide, as it left in place the ban on abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy.
Texas' ban has so far survived legal challenges partly because...
From the Left
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...
From the Right
Biden slams Supreme Court Texas abortion ruling as 'unprecedented assault on a woman’s constitutional rights’
President Biden on Thursday slammed the Supreme Court’s overnight ruling to allow Texas' "extreme" law that bans most abortions to remain in effect as an "unprecedented assault on a woman’s constitutional rights."
In a strongly worded statement Thursday, the president reacted to the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling to allow Texas’ law to remain in effect.
The law, signed by Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May, prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually around six weeks and before many women know they’re pregnant.
"The Supreme Court’s ruling overnight is...
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