Biden admin explores federal protections for abortion pills in response to Roe v. Wade repeal

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File

The Biden administration is exploring a wide range of options to allow women to travel across state lines to have an abortion. 

Following the Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v. Wade, which protected the right to abortion in the United States, states now have the ability to make determinations on the issue for themselves. 

Speaking to NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra revealed that the Biden administration is “exploring the opportunity to work with others to make sure that if a woman is trying to access the care that she needs, they will be supportive of that.” 

“There are a lot of partners, public and private, who are looking into this. We're one of those partners,” he said. 

Some states have already passed legislation to limit or ban the practice since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark legislation on June 24. 

As detailed by Rebel News, Democrats have floated a variety of different options for women seeking abortions, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren pitching the proposal of constructing makeshift tent clinics on federal land. 

Vice President Kamala Harris hasn’t taken such proposals seriously and proposed instead abortion vouchers to allow women to travel across state lines paid for by taxpayers. 

“I think we're continuing to explore everything that's out there,” Becerra explained, Fox News reported. “The difficulty is that simply because it's an idea doesn't mean it can go out into practice.” 

“And so what we want to make sure is we can put things out into practice because you have people who are right now in need of abortion care services,” he said. 

Becerra raised the possibility of offering federal protections for access to the abortion pill. He noted that federal protections on medication provide the administration more flexibility in comparison to legislating abortion access. 

“We want to make sure that medication abortion, which is currently available in America, continues to be such that it can be accessed by those who need it most,” he said. “We will continue to protect those federally required aspects of medication abortion, and we'll do everything we can where it's possible, for example, in terms of emergency care, to make sure that women have access to the services that they need.” 

Concluding his remarks, Becerra said he still believes that it may be possible to reinstate Roe v. Wade, arguing that the Supreme Court’s decision will not “stand long.”