Abortion heads to ballot
Even as he prepared to sign the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades yesterday, United States President Joe Biden’s mind was still on the Supreme Court ruling a day earlier that removed women’s constitutional right to abortion and ignited protests across the country.
Before turning to the subject of gun violence, he vowed his administration would ‘‘protect women’s health’’.
To do that effectively he needs voters. With Republican-held states already moving to ban abortion across swathes of the country, Democrats seek to make women’s rights central to campaigning for crucial midterm elections in November.
By harnessing the shock and fury felt by millions, they hope to redefine Biden’s floundering presidency. The explicit warning in the opinion from the conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, which targeted other precedents on contraception, samesex marriage and LGBTQ rights, has also raised fears that other freedoms are now under threat.
Speaking from the White House two hours after the court overturned the landmark 1973 ruling that had enshrined the nationwide right to abortion, Biden urged supporters to vent their outrage at the ballot box in November and secure the Congress majorities needed ‘‘to codify a woman’s right to choose into federal law’’.
With the price of food and fuel soaring as inflation climbs to a 40-year high, Biden’s approval rating is mired below 40%.
He signed the most sweeping gunreform bill in decades, a bipartisan compromise that seemed unimaginable until a recent series of mass shootings.
The House gave final approval on Saturday, following Senate passage on Friday, and Biden acted just before leaving for Europe. The legislation toughens background checks for young gun buyers, keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders and make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged to be dangerous. – The Sunday Times, AP