To mark the 48th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe V. Wade, President Joe Biden announced he is “committed to codifying” it.
“In the past four years, reproductive health, including the right to choose, has been under relentless and extreme attack,” Biden said in a statement.
He added, “We are deeply committed to making sure everyone has access to care — including reproductive health care — regardless of income, race, zip code, health insurance status, or immigration status. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to codifying Roe v. Wade and appointing judges that respect foundational precedents like Roe.”
The president promised to work to “eliminate maternal and infant health disparities, increase access to contraception and support families economically” so they can successfully raise their children.
“As the Biden-Harris administration begins in this critical moment, now is the time to rededicate ourselves to ensuring that all individuals have access to the health care they need,” Biden concluded.
Read his statement below:
INBOX: @WhiteHouse statement on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. Biden has promised to work to codify Roe in federal law. pic.twitter.com/EB9rjz4fuo
— Sarah McCammon📻 (@sarahmccammon) January 22, 2021
After he was sworn in, Biden signed 15 executive actions, as IJR reported.
“Some of the executive actions I’m going to be signing today are going to help change the course of the COVID crisis, we’re going to combat climate change in a way that we haven’t done so far and advance racial equity and support other underserved communities,” Biden said.
He continued, “These are just all starting points.”
Biden signed an executive order mandating Americans to wear masks in airports, trains, airplanes, and buses, as IJR reported.
During an event at the White House on Thursday, the president also urged Americans to voluntarily wear masks.
“Masks have become a partisan issue, unfortunately. But it’s a patriotic act,” Biden said.
He went on, “But for a few months, to wear a mask, no vaccines…the fact is that they’re the single best thing we can do they’re even more important than the vaccines because they take time to work. And if we do this as Americans, the experts say by wearing a mask, from now until April, we’d save more than 50,000 lives.”
He asked Americans to “mask up” for the next 100 days.
