Biden urges support for abortion rights on key anniversary

US president said the constitutional right established in Roe v Wade nearly 50 years ago is under assault as never before, and ‘should be codified into law’

Abortion rights advocates fear that the current Supreme Court, including three justices named by former president Donald Trump, will eliminate that right

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Demonstrators during the annual March For Life in Washington. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 11:47pm, 22 Jan 2022

President Joe Biden marked the 49th anniversary of the Landmark Supreme Court ruling establishing abortion rights in the United States by again urging that those rights be enshrined in federal law.

“The constitutional right established in Roe v Wade nearly 50 years ago today is under assault as never before,” Biden said in a statement on Saturday in which he was joined by Vice-President Kamala Harris.

“It is a right we believe should be codified into law, and we pledge to defend it with every tool we possess.”

The constitutional right laid out in the 1973 High Court ruling has come under steady attack as laws in a number of Republican-led states have made it increasingly difficult for women to obtain abortions.

“In recent years, we have seen efforts to restrict access to reproductive health care increase at an alarming rate,” the Biden-Harris statement said, citing recent laws in Texas, Mississippi and other states.

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