.Biden will sign an executive order on Friday to protect abortion access.
.The move comes after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion on June 24.
.The executive order aims to expand access to medication abortion and contraception.
President Joe Biden on Friday will sign an executive order that aims to protect access to abortion after the Supreme Court tossed out federal abortion rights two weeks ago, the White House announced.
The move comes after the White House has faced intense pressure from Democrats to take action in response to the Supreme Court's conservative majority overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion almost 50 years ago. Biden cannot legally reinstate the constitutional right to abortion but can take steps to protect abortion access as several Republican-led states have imposed restrictions on the procedure.
The president on Friday will direct the Health and Human Services department to protect and expand access to abortion care, including federally approved medication abortion, according to a White House factsheet. The executive order also seeks to protect patients' digital and medical privacy rights, and instructs HHS to ensure emergency healthcare for pregnant women and to expand reproductive healthcare services, including contraception access and family planning.
The White House, along with Attorney General Merrick Garland, will establish an interagency task force to coordinate the response. They will also gather pro bono lawyers to defend women who travel out of state to get an abortion where it is legal.
In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, some Democrats have called for Biden to set up abortion clinics on federal lands in states where the procedure has been banned, though the White House has opposed the idea. The White House also shut down a push from the party's left-wing to expand the number of justices who sit on the Supreme Court, in an attempt to offset the current 6-3 conservative majority.
Democrats, who hold a slim majority in the Senate, lack the 60 votes necessary to codify Roe v. Wade into law, which would restore abortion rights at the federal level. Biden announced last Friday that he supports eliminating the Senate filibuster, a 60-vote requirement for legislation to pass, specifically to restore abortion rights. But Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema oppose the move. Democratic leaders, including Biden, have urged voters to expand the Democratic majorities this November so they may advance legislation to protect abortion rights.