President Biden on Friday accused the Supreme Court of taking an extremist path with its decision overturning the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion rights, arguing the court made a “tragic error.”
“This is an extreme and dangerous path the court is now taking us on,” Biden said of the court’s 5-4 decision, which effectively wipes out what had been a constitutional right for more than a half a century.
“It’s a sad day for the court and for the country,” Biden said in remarks from Cross Hall at the White House. “The health and life of women in this nation is now at risk.”
Biden specifically called out the court for completely overturning Roe v. Wade and leaving the decision on abortion rights entirely to the states.
He said this would mean a person who was the victim of rape and incest would not longer be able to get an abortion — unless a state law provides such an exception.
“So extreme that the woman could be punished for protecting their health. So extreme that women and girls are forced to bear their rapist’s child,” he said, pausing in an emotional moment. “Imagine, a young woman having to carry the child of incest, a consequence of incest, no option.”
And he warned that other rights could be at risk in the wake of the ruling.
“With this decision, a conservative majority of the Supreme Court shows how extreme it is. How far removed they are from the majority of this country,” he said in prepared remarks.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday eliminates the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion and hands states authority to drastically limit or ban the procedure.
The ruling had been expected, but the developments sent shockwaves through Washington and the country. Demonstrators immediately flocked to the Supreme Court.
Biden delivered the remarks just after noon on Friday, hours after the ruling was issued. A group of about a dozen female White House aides, including domestic policy adviser Susan Rice, watched on silently during his speech from a corner of the room.
In his speech, Biden called out former President Trump by name — something he rarely does — while noting that justices nominated by Democrat and Republican presidents have upheld Roe until now.
“It was three justices, named by one president, Donald Trump, who were the core of today’s decision to upend the scales of justice and eliminate a fundamental right for women in this country,” he said.
He called overturning Roe a deliberate effort over decades and criticized some states’ so-called trigger laws restricting abortion that are now going into effect as those that “jeopardize women’s health.”
Biden has largely responded to the leaked draft by urging voters to vote Republicans out of office come November so that Democrats can pass federal legislation codifying Roe v. Wade.
On Friday, Biden reiterated that message, calling for voters to elect pro-abortion rights candidates in the upcoming midterm elections and said that the ruling on Friday doesn’t mean the fight is over. He noted that executive actions from a president cannot change the outcome of Friday’s decision, but that a vote in Congress could codify Roe v. Wade.
Senate Democrats do not have the votes to do so; an effort to pass abortion rights legislation was blocked by Senate Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) last month.
Still, Biden vowed to do what he can with his executive authority, including by ensuring access to FDA-approved contraception and medication to end early pregnancies and by protecting women who will now be required to travel to states where abortion rights are protected.
“This decision must not be the final word. My administration will use all of its appropriate, lawful powers, but Congress must act,” Biden said. “And with your vote, you can act. You can have the final word. This is not over.”
Biden warned that other landmark decisions could be in question, alluding to the concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday that called for overturning the constitutional rights the court had affirmed for access to contraceptives and LGBTQ rights.
The White House has been quietly preparing for the Supreme Court opinion, holding meetings with abortion rights groups, advocates and state officials to understand the laws on the ground in various states and discuss options to push back against state efforts to curtail abortion access. Vice President Harris on Thursday met with Democratic state attorneys general.
At the end of his speech Friday, Biden said he would have “more to say” in the days and weeks to come and walked out of the room without responding to shouted questions from reporters.
The decision, announced by a majority of conservative justices, upholds Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, which directly clashed with Roe’s requirement that states permit abortion up to the point of fetal viability, around 24 weeks.
It is expected to ignite a political firestorm and lead to a patchwork of state laws, including in 13 states that have trigger laws that will take effect immediately.
Updated at 1:22 p.m.