By Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues
President Biden defended the killing of unborn children during his State of the Union Address (SOTU) calling access to abortion on demand necessary for “advancing liberty and justice” and “protecting the rights of women”. He was critical of the increased number of laws restricting and regulating abortion enacted by state legislators calling the laws “an attack”. President Biden stated, “The constitutional right affirmed in Roe v. Wade—standing precedent for half a century—is under attack as never before.” He described abortion as “health care”: “If we want to go forward—not backward—we must protect access to health care. Preserve a woman’s right to choose.”
Biden’s abortion advocacy in the State of the Union address had been requested by 120 pro-abortion organizations which sent a letter demanding that he mention access to abortion in his remarks. Organized by Planned Parenthood, the letter implored him to address the “national abortion access crisis”. The organizations expressed concern that if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade “approximately half the states, mostly in the South and Midwest, are poised to ban abortion; millions of people who can become pregnant could lose abortion access, including 36 million women — nearly half of the women of reproductive age (18-49) in the United States.”
The letter concluded, “We are hopeful you will make a forceful case to the American public about the administration’s efforts to protect abortion access in the face of unprecedented attacks.”
Not all pro-abortion groups were satisfied with Biden’s remarks referring to abortion as a “constitutional right” or as “health care” or as “a woman’s right to choose”— they wanted him to say the word “abortion”.
The organization Did President Biden say ‘abortion’ yet?, which is counting the number of days President Biden has refused to say the word “abortion” in a public statement, tweeted: “Once again our pro-choice president has opted to refuse to say the word abortion when mentioning attacks on Roe v. Wade in his #SOTU speech. People who have abortions deserve to hear our President speak about what we’re facing and what he plans to do about it #SayAbortionJoe”.
“President Joe Biden had a sentence or two about protecting Roe in his State of the Union address, but he didn’t actually say the word “abortion.” He still has yet to use the word in any of his oral remarks.”
The editor of Abortion Stories, @RBraceySherman, tweeted: “People who have abortions deserve a president who says the word abortion and understands that giving more money to police will harm us, especially as states move to criminalize abortion. I believe we can have—and deserve—a president who can do both. We must demand it.”
A reporter for the Washington Post,@CAKitchener, tweeted about the controversy:, “Biden has attracted a ton of criticism from abortion rights groups for failing to say the word “abortion.” Since he’s been in office, he has yet to say the word publicly. He and his admin will often sub in terms like “a constitutional right” and “reproductive health care.”
“Republicans, on the other hand, have mentioned the issue in eight SOTUs since 1973 — and said the word “abortion” in seven of those. Trump said the word in two of his speeches.”
The morning after the address, President Biden refused to answer a reporter’s question when he returned to the White House after attending Ash Wednesday services with a visible cross on his forehead. He was asked, “As a Catholic, why do you support abortion?”
It was reported that Biden immediately went on the defensive of his pro-abortion stance and said “I don’t want to get in a debate with you on theology … I’m not going to make a judgement for other people.”