1 of 5 | President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a Democratic National Committee "Restore Roe" event at Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI |
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Oct. 18 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden shifted the focus of the upcoming midterm elections to abortion rights Tuesday in a speech in which he vowed to codify Roe vs. Wade if Democrats hold the U.S. House and expand their majority in the U.S. Senate.
Biden made his remarks at the Democratic National Committee "Restore Roe" event at The Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., exactly three weeks before next month's midterms, warning voters that Republicans would cut access to reproductive health and could ban abortion nationwide.
"Right now, we're short a handful of votes," Biden said. "To care about the right to choose then you got to vote. That's why these midterm elections are so critical.
"Elect more Democratic senators to the United States and more Democrats to keep control of the House of Representatives," the president said as he referenced legislation introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., last month to ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
"If Republicans get their way with a national ban, it won't matter where you live in America," Biden said. "So let me be very clear: if such a bill were to pass in the next several years, I'll veto it."
Biden pledged that if the midterm elections expand Democratic control in Congress, he will sign a bill to codify Roe vs. Wade on the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision, which falls a few days after a new Congress is sworn in, on Jan. 22, 2023.
"Together, we'll restore the right to choose for every woman in every state in America. So vote. You gotta get out the vote. We can do this if we vote," Biden said.
Republicans blasted Biden's speech Tuesday saying he was "deeply out of touch with the concerns of families," according to Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee who said "Democrats can't distract" from soaring inflation and concerns about the economy under the Biden administration.
"Doubling down on an extreme agenda of abortion on demand until birth won't stop Democrats from losing Congress," argued Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. "Biden's party is on the wrong side and stunningly out of touch."
After the Supreme Court struck down Roe vs. Wade in June and a number of states started banning abortion, Biden announced he would support the Senate abandoning the filibuster -- a rule that allows one party to block legislation -- and promised to restore protections for legalized abortion by codifying Roe vs. Wade into federal law.
While Democrats currently hold a slight majority in the Senate -- a 50-50 split with Vice President Kamala Harris as a tiebreaker -- the party is not currently able to codify nationwide legalized abortion because the filibuster requires 60 votes for the effort to pass.
That means at least 10 Republican senators would have to favor abortion-rights legislation, which is unlikely.
Biden has vowed since June to find a way to guarantee the right for women to choose, giving "everything in my power, which I legally can do in terms of executive orders, as well as push the Congress and the public."
