WASHINGTON: In the midst of the highly contentious 2024 US presidential race, Joe Biden secured the endorsement of prominent organizations advocating for reproductive rights on Friday. Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and Emily’s List expressed their support for Biden’s reelection campaign, alongside his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Planned Parenthood, the country’s foremost abortion provider and advocacy organization, took to Twitter to affirm Biden and Harris’s unwavering commitment to reproductive freedom, stating, “When people want to know where @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris stand on reproductive freedom, we tell them: they are unwavering.” NARAL, another influential group advocating for abortion rights, endorsed the duo, emphasizing that they have done more than any previous administration to defend and expand reproductive freedom.
This announcement coincides with the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, thereby granting states the authority to determine reproductive rights policies. As several states have implemented measures to restrict access to abortion, Biden signed an executive order on Friday aimed at bolstering access to contraception.
On the other side of the deepening political divide, abortion opponents from the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition were scheduled to hold a rally in Washington on Friday, featuring speeches from Republican presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and far-right Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The American Christian right played a pivotal role in the successful effort to overturn the landmark Roe vs Wade decision on June 24 of the previous year. Since then, 20 states, primarily located in the central and southern regions of the country, have enacted bans or stringent restrictions on abortion, while liberal-leaning states on the eastern and western coasts have enacted new protections.
Although Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, has not always been an unwavering advocate for abortion rights, in recent years, the 80-year-old Democrat, whose approval ratings remain low, has assumed the role of the country’s leading advocate for reproductive rights. He hopes this stance will bolster his chances in the election. A recent CBS/YouGov poll revealed that 63 percent of Americans oppose a federal ban on abortion.
Biden’s main rival in the 2024 race, his predecessor Donald Trump, recently characterized the Supreme Court’s decision as “God’s will.” However, unlike some conservatives, he is not advocating for a federal ban. Despite his limited powers in the absence of a strong majority in Congress, Biden has issued several decrees to provide marginal protections for abortion access and has announced new safeguards for contraception since the Roe decision was overturned.
The issue of abortion rights epitomizes the divisions in the United States, and for many voters, it is a decisive factor on election day—a trend that has intensified since the overturning of Roe. According to a Gallup poll published earlier this week, 28 percent of registered voters exclusively base their vote on a candidate’s stance on abortion, surpassing the 27 percent recorded the previous month and marking a new record level of significance.
