Millions of Americans lost their access to abortions when former US President Donald Trump nominated the judges who overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. Trump has stated that he wants to penalize women who have abortions and that he and his allies would seek to outlaw the procedure if he were to win the presidency again. Although he hasn’t arrived back yet, the Trump court’s decision to outlaw abortion rights has severely restricted access to abortion in a large portion of the nation.
According to Vice President Harris and President Biden, this should never occur in the United States. However, the MAGA Republicans take a cue from Trump and step up their anti-choice campaign, pressuring elected officials to force this reality on women across the country. With three nationwide abortion restrictions proposed in Congress and ever-stricter state prohibitions, they are stepping up their attack on fundamental liberties. Republicans in the Senate also prevented a vote to protect IVF access across the country. It is disgusting and immoral that they continue to show no respect for women’s autonomy in making decisions for themselves and their families.
In the face of persistent attacks from the Republican Party, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are spearheading a nationwide initiative to safeguard and increase access to reproductive health care while advocating for the fundamental liberties of women. They think that women and their physicians, not politicians, should decide how best to care for their reproductive health. Biden would never consent to the passage of a nationwide abortion restriction and is working to uphold the safeguards of Roe v. Wade.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has released a Final Rule by the Biden-Harris Administration amending the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to promote privacy in reproductive health care. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which has resulted in widespread state abortion ban in 21 states, prompted HHS to take many steps to safeguard access to and privacy of reproductive health care, including the adoption of this Final Rule.
“Medical records should never be used against a patient, provider, or loved one simply for seeking or receiving legal reproductive health care,” stated Biden in a statement.
On June 25, 2024, the American Civil Liberties Union published the Trump on Abortion paper. This document outlined a strategy for retaliating against the many assaults on abortion and other reproductive health services that may arise from a potential Trump government. According to the ACLU Press Release, the memo’s release follows on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse Roe v. Wade, which was decided two years ago.
“We won’t allow them to blind the people with their strategy; we will keep exposing it. And should Trump win reelection to the presidency, we will be there at every turn to organize efforts to stop him and to fight him in court wherever possible,” the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project’s director, Jennifer Dalven, stated.
“To protect our right to reproductive health care from attacks, we have outlined our plan in the ACLU’s roadmap, which was released today,” she continued.