The Biden administration is looking into a narrow declaration to allow nationwide access to abortion pills, Politico reported on Tuesday.
The effort is the most feasible among President Joe Biden's limited options and the one most likely to have immediate impact, according to Politico, which quoted three people said to be familiar with the plan.
"It's the only one that’s had a reasonably decent amount of support [internally]," Politico quoted one of its sources as saying. "But there's no one that's gung ho."
Democrats have been demanding stronger action from the White House, but Biden has said there is little that he alone can do, advising voters who support abortion rights to instead elect more Senate and House Democrats in November's midterms in an effort to solidify abortion as a federal right by law since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month.
Many Democrats have urged Biden to use his executive powers instead, but White House officials have expressed concerns that such efforts are less likely to survive legal challenges. And a Republican president could simply reverse them, or conservative judges could further limit the president's executive power.
The plan falls under the powers given to the president under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, which is allowed only under public health emergencies and would shield doctors, pharmacies and others from liability for giving abortion pills to anyone in the country, including those in states where abortion has been outlawed.
PREP was most recently used to shield drugmakers from liability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The White House would not comment directly on the discussions when asked by Politico, saying only that the administration is considering anything that might "provide meaningful help to women seeking reproductive health care, including abortions.
"President Biden is going to do everything he can within his legal authority to make sure we continue to protect women’s rights," a White House spokesperson said in a statement.
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