President Joe Biden issued a statement on June 27, 2024, regarding the Supreme Court’s order in the case of Moyle v. United States. The order ensures that women in Idaho can access emergency medical care, including abortions, while the case is sent back to the lower courts. President Biden emphasized that no woman should be denied necessary medical care or forced to leave her state to receive it, criticizing the impact of state abortion bans that have been implemented since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.Biden highlighted the story of Dr. Kylie Cooper, a physician who left Idaho due to the state’s restrictive abortion laws, which prevented her from providing essential care to her patients. He condemned these bans as part of a broader agenda by Republican officials to restrict abortion nationwide, putting women’s health at risk.The President reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to defending reproductive freedom and restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade at the federal level, ensuring that women across the country have the right to make personal health care decisions
Today’s Supreme Court order ensures that women in Idaho can access the emergency medical care they need while this case returns to the lower courts. No woman should be denied care, made to wait until she’s near death, or forced to flee her home state just to receive the health care she needs. This should never happen in America. Yet, this is exactly what is happening in states across the country since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
State abortion bans are also forcing doctors to leave Idaho and other states. In January, I heard heartbreaking testimony from Dr. Kylie Cooper, a physician who cared for patients with high-risk pregnancies in Idaho. After practicing medicine under Idaho’s extreme abortion ban—which went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned—Dr. Cooper made the difficult decision to uproot her family, leave the community she loved, and move to a different state. Because of the state ban, and for the first time in her career, she was unable to offer the care her patients with certain pregnancy complications desperately needed.
Doctors should be able to practice medicine. Patients should be able to get the care they need. Instead, Dr. Cooper’s story is the reality for doctors and the women they care for since Roe v. Wade was overturned. And make no mistake: this is all part of Republican elected officials’ extreme and dangerous agenda to ban abortion nationwide, and put women’s health and lives at risk.
The stakes could not be higher and the contrast could not be clearer. My Administration is committed to defending reproductive freedom and maintains our long-standing position that women have the right to access the emergency medical care they need. Vice President Harris and I will continue to fight for a woman’s right to make deeply personal health care decisions. And we will continue to fight to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law, for all women in every state across the country.
White House, Washington DC June 27 2024
Sources: Midtown Tribune news, WH.gov
The debate over abortion laws in the United States often centers on the balance between federal and state authority. Those who argue in favor of states’ rights to enact their own abortion laws typically base their position on the following points:
- Constitutional interpretation: Some argue that the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly mention abortion, and therefore the power to regulate it should be left to the states under the 10th Amendment[2].
- Federalism: Supporters of state-level abortion laws believe that allowing states to decide reflects the principles of federalism, where states have the authority to make laws that best represent their constituents’ values[2].
- Democratic process: Proponents argue that state-level decision-making allows for more direct representation of local voters’ preferences on this contentious issue[2].
- Diversity of approaches: Allowing states to create their own laws can lead to a variety of approaches that may better suit different regional attitudes and needs[2].
It’s worth noting that the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, effectively returned the authority to regulate abortion to individual states[1][4]. This decision has led to a patchwork of abortion laws across the country, with some states enacting strict bans while others maintain more permissive policies[3][4].
However, it’s important to recognize that this remains a highly contentious issue, with ongoing legal challenges and debates over the appropriate balance between state and federal authority in regulating abortion[1][3][4].
Citations:
[1] https://midtowntribune.com/2024/06/27/white-house-statement-from-moyle-v-united-states/
[2] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-read/2020/01/21/do-state-laws-on-abortion-reflect-public-opinion/
[3] https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/poll-finding/womens-views-of-abortion-access-and-policies-in-the-dobbs-era-insights-from-the-kff-health-tracking-poll/
[4] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/supreme-court-seems-unconvinced-that-state-abortion-bans-conflict-with-federal-healthcare-law
[5] https://apnews.com/article/abortion-poll-roe-dobbs-ban-opinion-fcfdfc5a799ac3be617d99999e92eabe