Biden Says Texas Abortion Ban Will Cause 'Unconstitutional Chaos'

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.