Republicans will go to war against President Joe Biden on abortion. On Thursday, Sen. Marco Rubio (Republican-from-Florida) plans to present a bill that would prevent the White House’s use of federal emergency power to increase abortion access and target states that have passed restrictions. As the Supreme Court prepares to issue its highly anticipated ruling, this development is timely. Roe v. WadeLet states decide what they want to do with abortion.
The bill, called the “Prohibiting Federal Emergencies for Abortion Act,” was drafted after the president said he is considering using executive power to expand abortion access–as the court prepares to issue its decision on Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Health Organization–by declaring a public health emergency.
Interview with The Washington Times, Sen. Rubio said Biden and Democrats “are hell-bent on preserving the practice of murdering unborn Americans.” He argued that the government “should be protecting the lives of innocent babies, not Planned Parenthood’s ability to kill them.” The lawmaker vowed to do “everything” he can “to protect life and block this gross abuse of presidential power.”
Biden and other future presidents could not use the National Emergencies Act and Public Health Service Act or the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in order to increase abortion. It would bar the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services from declaring a public health emergency for the purposes of “promoting, supporting, or expanding access to abortion” and “prohibiting, restricting, or providing for litigation against states that outlaw abortion.”
Republican senators. The bill is co-sponsored by Marsha Blackburn, Marsha Blackburn, Roger Marshall and Thom Tillis.
Earlier in June, President Biden stated he was looking into the possibility of issuing executive orders to protect the practice during an appearance on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
He said, “I think what we’re going to have to do is that there are some executive orders I could employ, we believe. We’re looking at that right now,”
A Supreme Court opinion draft on DobbsLeaked May 5, Democrats scramble to plan for a future in which there is no federal control over how the states regulate abortion. Democratic legislators failed to approve legislation to codify Roe into law. The group is now trying to get Biden to exercise his executive power and protect this practice. Politico reported:
24 senators addressed Biden earlier this week, pleading for him to remove the FDA restrictions on abortion pills. These include the requirement that all pharmacies that sell the drugs must obtain a license. The senators also requested travel vouchers and financial assistance for people traveling across state lines to get the procedure. They asked for tougher penalties for states trying to eliminate Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid program, increased protections for digital health data, which could be used against people having abortions. Also, they suggested that federally-owned properties could allow abortions even in places that have bans. Democrats on Congress have also lobbied the Pentagon for service members stationed abroad that are likely to prohibit abortion to receive leave to travel to the United States.
HIPAA guidelines should be issued by the Administration to prevent medical personnel from reporting abortions that they think have occurred to law enforcement. “They also want stricter enforcement of widespread violations of Obamacare’s contraception mandate — one of several steps they’re calling for that could help prevent unwanted pregnancies,” according to Politico.
According to the administration, it was waiting for the Supreme Court’s ruling. DobbsThe pro-abortion group has not liked the idea of Rubio taking no action before he did. Rubio’s legislation is unlikely to pass while Democrats remain in control of both chambers of Congress. But, it is possible that the results of the next congressional elections will change this. In the meantime, it seems likely that if Biden were to issue such an order, Republicans would use the courts to block or stall the executive order–until they have enough seats in Congress to stop it permanently through legislation.
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