According to Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Biden administration is taking five steps to protect abortion access (HHS).
Becerra said on Tuesday that these steps include expanding access to medication abortion and training health workers in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.
Becerra slammed the court’s “despicable” decision, which leaves abortion policy up to individual states.
“There is no magic bullet. But if there is something we can do, we will find it and we will do it at HHS,” Becerra said June 28, referring to instructions that he received from President Joe Biden.
Becerra emphasized that HHS would support Biden’s efforts to make abortion pills available and to allow women to travel for out-of-state abortions.
Both Biden and Becerra are Catholics, and they both support abortion, despite the Catholic Church’s teaching that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.”
Following the Roe v. Wade decision, Becerra refused to say Monday whether he thought fewer abortions would be a good thing in America.
“I think if we leave things in the hands of a woman to make decisions for her own body, we’re going to have the best decisions made,” Becerra told EWTN correspondent Owen Jensen.
White House Correspondent @owentjensen caught up with US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to ask him whether he thinks it would be a good thing if there were fewer abortions in America. pic.twitter.com/p1B2MEA0Z2
Becerra outlined the HHS’s five steps to protect abortion during a press conference on Tuesday. He started with abortion pills, which allow women to have early abortions without having to leave their homes.
Becerra stated that the HHS “will take steps to increase access” by ensuring that federally funded programs and services provide these pills in cases of rape, incest, or to save the woman’s life, in accordance with federal law.
The department is also looking into protecting patient and provider privacy, supporting doctors’ “clinical judgment” when treating pregnant women in emergencies, and training providers on family planning and “helping patients navigate this new reality,” he continued.
Becerra added that he is directing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to also protect “family planning care,” including contraception.
When asked about the possibility of locating abortion clinics on federal land to circumvent state laws or assisting women in traveling to other states to obtain abortions, Becerra said, “Every option is on the table.”
Becerra emphasized increased access to abortion pills as the most important step, calling it a “national imperative.” That included, he said, working “to ensure that states may not ban medication abortion, based on a disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about the drug’s safety and efficacy.”
The Charlotte Lozier Institute, a pro-life research organization, has expressed concern about the safety of this type of abortion for women.
“How we respond will speak to how we view the rights, the dignity and the wellbeing of women everywhere,” Becerra said. “All options are on the table. We will do everything within our legal limit of the law to reach patients and support providers.”
Immediately before his remarks, HHS launched a website claiming to inform Americans about their “rights” to “reproductive health care,” including abortion. Among other things, it recommends abortion funds “if you need help paying for an abortion.”
Following Becerra’s remarks, Senator Steve Daines, founder and chair of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, issued a statement responding to the Biden administration’s plans regarding abortion.
“The Biden administration will stop at nothing, not even a Supreme Court ruling, to force their radical, pro-abortion agenda on all Americans,” the Republican from Montana said. “Instead of allowing Americans’ voices to be heard when it comes to abortion, President Biden wants to force states to allow dangerous DIY abortion pills and is considering plans to use taxpayer dollars to fund abortion tourism across state lines and even set up abortion clinics in our national parks.”
He added: “This is outrageous. Our fight is long from over—I will continue to stand up for all life, no matter how small.”