Biden administration announces new abortion initiatives on Roe anniversary

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden convened key members of his Cabinet on Monday to discuss abortion rights on the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling.

It was the fourth time that his task force on reproductive health care access has come together since the fall of Roe roughly a year and a half ago.

Biden railed Monday against the Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn the landmark ruling, calling it "a fundamental right ripped away."

“I said ... on that day that Roe was overturned, the health and lives of women in this nation would now be at risk,” he said in his remarks. “And that has unfortunately proven to be true. They’ve been at risk.”

Biden also reiterated his call for Congress to codify protections that had been provided by Roe, adding that if a bill were passed, he would "immediately" sign it into law.

"Stop playing politics with the women’s lives and freedom. Let doctors do their job," he said.

The administration has repeatedly urged Congress to pass a law that would restore the protections that existed under Roe, but that proved impossible even when Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate, so it is unlikely to happen any time soon.

The departments of Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services issued new guidance Monday to clarify standards and support expanded coverage of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives at no cost under the Affordable Care Act for millions of women nationwide.

HHS launched the new effort to “educate all patients about their rights and to help ensure hospitals meet their obligations under federal law,” a White House official said.

The Office of Personnel Management is also offering new guidance to strengthen access to contraception for federal workers, retirees and family members, the White House said.

Notably, the administration is announcing a “comprehensive plan” to increase awareness about access to emergency medical care required under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.

The Justice Department is defending the position that required emergency care “can, in some circumstances, include abortion care” before the Supreme Court. The high court is expected to rule by June.

Members of the president’s task force are expected to report back on implementation of various executive actions to expand access to reproductive health care, the official said.

Both the White House and Biden’s re-election campaign have been blaming Republicans and slamming the GOP’s more restrictive stance on abortion as a “dangerous, extreme, and out-of-touch agenda.”

“Even as Americans — from Ohio to Kentucky to Michigan to Kansas to California — have resoundingly rejected attempts to limit reproductive freedom, Republican elected officials continue to push for a national ban and devastating new restrictions across the country,” Biden said in a statement Monday.

Most state bans in effect do not have exceptions for rape or incest, and some doctors can be charged with felonies or even face life in prison if they perform the procedure.

As Biden hosted a meeting with his task force Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Wisconsin to launch a nationwide tour focused on reproductive freedom.

Over the past year, Harris has traveled to 16 states and met with 250 legislators about reproductive rights, work she is expected to continue ahead of November, the Biden administration said.

“The president is incredibly grateful to the vice president for helping to lead this work, and to be his partner in meeting this work,” said Jen Klein, the director of the White House Gender Policy Council.

Abortion is expected to be a major issue in the November presidential election, largely because of voters' attitudes toward abortion-related initiatives in the 2022 midterms.

Since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, abortion has appeared on the ballot seven times, in Kansas, Michigan, Kentucky, California, Vermont, Montana and Ohio. In every instance, in both traditionally red and blue states, a Biden campaign memo said last week, people “resoundingly voted to protect their rights.”

Voters will again weigh in on abortion in November in several key battleground states, including Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

The Biden administration plans to make ballot initiatives on abortion a “core part” of its strategy in the next 10 months, engaging with hundreds of state leaders who are deeply involved with current legislative battles on the topic, Klein said.

“The administration is committed to ensuring women have the freedom to make their own reproductive health care decisions,” she added.

Asked at Monday’s news briefing whether Biden would be willing to compromise with lawmakers who believe there should be certain restrictions, Klein reiterated the president's call for a bill restoring Roe's protections to be sent to his desk.

“I think what the president has said, and he will continue to say, that he believes that Roe was rightly decided and that we need a bill that restores the protections that were in Roe,” Klein said.

The president, the first lady, the vice president and the second gentleman will headline their first joint campaign rally of the cycle Tuesday in Northern Virginia to highlight the importance of abortion access.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com