Biden administration officials considered declaring a public health emergency to maintain women’s access to abortion services after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, but later decided against that action, Bloomberg reports.
The disclosure comes as President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order that seeks to safeguard access to abortion medication and emergency contraception, according to The Washington Post.
The order is intended to try to mitigate some potential penalties women seeking abortion may face after the court's ruling but are limited in their ability to safeguard access to abortion nationwide, The Associated Press reports.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg said a public health emergency declaration had been discussed between top officials at the Health and Human Services Department and the White House.
The discussions took place ahead of a June 28 news conference by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, according to the news outlet’s sources.
But officials had ended up dismissing the idea due to concerns the impact wouldn’t justify a legal challenge.
At the news conference, Becerra acknowledged the administration had very little it could do to help people in need of abortions in states that enacted bans.
"There is no magic bullet — but if there’s something we can do, we will find it, and we will do it," Becerra said.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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