We explain what the President's latest executive order means for reproductive rights
SAN ANTONIO — It's the move by the President that has everyone talking.
On Friday President Biden signed an executive order that looks to protect access to reproductive health services.
“It doesn't really change the legal landscape,” St. Mary’s Law Professor Bill Piatt said.
The executive order does not reinstate abortion in states where it is currently outlawed.
What it does do is look to safeguard access to reproductive health care services, protect patient privacy, promote safety and security of patients/providers and clinics, as well as coordinate the implementation of federal efforts to protect reproductive rights.
Piatt explains what we could see in the future.
“The next step will be if at all, for Congress to take up this issue and see if Congress is going to try to enact a statute that would reinstate abortion rights at a federal level,” Piatt said.
In response to Friday's decision Planned Parenthood said the following:
We’re in a national health care crisis and need officials at every level of government to do everything within their authority to fight for access to abortion. Amid the Supreme Court stripping Americans of their constitutional right to abortion after nearly 50 years, we need an urgent and robust response to ensure people get the essential health care they need. Planned Parenthood is encouraged the administration is reaffirming its commitment to abortion access and looks forward to working toward implementation of these and other strategies to address this crisis.
We Testify, which is an organization that represents the stories of those who have had an abortion, said the following:
We believe that people should be able to feel the impact of the President’s executive orders. What he offered today was very little and way too late. People who have abortions deserve better than a President who rejects the ideas of the smartest people in the abortion access movement in favor of reports that won’t see the light of day for another month. As was reported in Bloomberg this morning, the White House rejected a public health emergency, which would mean people who have abortions could get access to abortion care more widely available and protect providers. There are so many actions the President could take, but none of the most significant ones were in this morning’s executive order. We’re still waiting for abortion justice, and we’re still waiting for the President to meet the moment—and meet with people who have abortions.
Catherine Nix with the San Antonio Coalition for Life weighs in on how she views Friday's executive order.
“Those particular initiatives are not any, there is no change really happening in the law for those,” Nix said.
She adds that her organization will help those who are pregnant however it's needed.
“We're here to promote all of the possible resources for women who find themselves in unexpected pregnancies. It's important for all of our women to know that these resources exist,” Nix said.
Planned Parenthood clinics in Texas have stopped giving abortions since the SCOTUS decision and subsequent trigger law in Texas.
You may see people going into some but right now it's only for health care services.
