BREAKING: Biden signs executive order to protect abortion access, calls for Roe to be codified

On Friday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order titled "Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care," which aims to protect access to "safe and legal abortion" across the country.

Addressing the nation shortly before signing the order, Biden slammed the Supreme Court for their ruling in the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health, which turned over the decision on the legality of abortion over to individual states.

"This was not a decision driven by the Constitution, and despite what those justices, the majority said, this was not a decision driven by history," Biden said.

"The truth is today’s Supreme Court majority is playing fast and loose with the facts. Even 150 years ago, the common law and many state laws did not criminalize abortion early in pregnancy, which is very similar to the viability line drawn by Roe."

"The Dobbs majority ignores that fact, and the Dobbs majority ignores that laws are enacted to protect women at the time when they were dying from unsafe abortions. This is the horrific reality that Roe sought to end. The practice of medicine should not be frozen in the 19th century."

Biden said that the decision from the Supreme Court wasn’t a "constitutional judgment," but rather an "exercise in raw political power."

Biden noted that he has made it clear that the only way to truly "restore that right for women in this country" is by voting in the upcoming election.

He stressed that two additional "pro-choice senators" and a "pro-choice House" to codify Roe into federal law.

"Your vote can make that a reality," Biden stressed.

"The Court now practically dares the women of America to go to the ballot box and restore the very rights they’ve just taken away," said Biden, adding that women vote at a higher rate than men in the US.

"Let me be clear, while I wish it had not come to this, this is the fastest route available. I’m jus stating a basic fundamental motion, the fastest way to restore Roe is to pass a national law codifying Roe," said Biden, "which I will sign immediately upon its passage at my desk."

Biden continued bed on to say that Republican lawmakers are "determined to go as far as they can" to implement strict abortion laws, noting a story out of Ohio where a 10-year-old girl had to cross state lines to get an abortion.

In regards to the executive order, Biden said that he would be directing the  Justice Department to do "everything in their power to protect these women seeking to invoke their rights. In states where clinics are still open, to protect them from intimidation."

The executive order will also protect "the right of women" traveling across state lines to receive an abortion, and to protect access to FDA-approved medication.

The order directs the Department of Health and Human Services to "ensure all patients, including pregnant women and girls experiencing pregnancy loss, get the emergency care they need under federal law."

Biden noted that the executive order also protects access to contraception, after Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion that "the court should reconsider the constitutional right to contraception," referencing the case of Griswold, and expand access to other contraceptive forms like intrauterine devices.

In addition, the executive order will protect patient privacy and access to patient information from companies that collect and sell data.

Closing out his speech, Biden noted that "we cannot allow an out of control Supreme Court working in conjunction with extremist elements of the Republican Party to take away freedoms and our personal autonomy."

"This is a choice. This is a moment, the moment, a moment to restore the rights that have been taken away from us, and a moment to protect our nation from extremist agenda that is antithetical to everything we believe as Americans.