Biden signs executive order to protect travel for abortions

• President Joe Biden signs an executive order to protect women who intend to travel for an abortion.
• The order is the latest in a series of actions by Biden since the constitutional right to abortion was rescinded.
• Kansas became the first US state to ratify the right to abortion in a referendum.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, intended, in part, to make it easier for women seeking abortions to travel between states to access to the procedure, The Associated Press reported.

More specifically, one of the directives that Biden issued will allow states that have not banned abortion to apply for specific Medicaid waivers that would, in effect, help them treat women who have traveled from out of state.

Biden signs order to protect travel for abortions

Photo: AP

The order will also require health care providers to comply with federal anti-discrimination laws and streamline the collection of key maternal health data and information at the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Details were outlined by senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the executive order ahead of a formal announcement. Biden, who remains in isolation in the White House residence after a rebound case of Covid-19, signs the executive order as he helps launch a federal task force on access to reproductive care, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, officials said.

Biden is asked to declare a public health emergency

Photo: AP

However, the new order falls short of what many Democratic lawmakers and abortion advocacy groups have demanded of the Biden administration since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade.

One of the main calls has been for Biden to declare a public health emergency over abortion, which White House officials have said would do little to free up federal resources or activate new legal authorities. According to the AP, Wednesday’s order is the latest in a series of executive actions by the Biden administration since the constitutional right to abortion was struck down in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June.

Kansas becomes the first US state to ratify the right to abortion in a referendum

Photo: AP

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Kansas voters overwhelmingly voted for keeping the right to abortion as it is currently regulated in their state Constitution, in a defeat for conservatives who sought to restrict access, reported EFE.

With 90% of the vote counted, more than 60% of the voters rejected changing the state Constitution to restrict the right to abortion. «Kansas voters went to the polls in record numbers to reject extremist efforts to amend the state Constitution to take away women’s right to choose,» US President Joe Biden said in a statement.

President issues strong statements after vote

Photo: AP

«This vote makes clear what we already know: that the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health decisions,» the president added. The one in Kansas was the first referendum held by a US state after the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade ruling, which eliminated the federal right to abortion and gave states the power to legislate on the subject.

The referendum, which coincided with the primary elections in the state on Tuesday, could have opened the door for the state government to legislate to restrict the right to abortion, which however will now remain legal up to 22 weeks. It was a particularly relevant referendum because it could have set a precedent for other states.