President’s efforts to protect abortion access hit roadblocks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is still actively searching for ways to safeguard abortion access for millions of women, even as it bumps up against a complex web of strict new state laws enacted in the months after the Supreme Court stripped the constitutional right.

Looking to seize on momentum following a midterm election where voters widely rebuked tougher abortion restrictions, there's a renewed push at the White House to find ways to help women in states that have virtually outlawed or limited the treatment, and to keep the issue top of mind for voters.

In reality, though, the administration is shackled by a ban on federal funding for most abortions, a conservative-leaning Supreme Court inclined to rule against abortion rights and a split Congress unwilling to pass legislation on the matter.

Meanwhile, frustration on the ground in the most abortionrestricted states is mounting.

"This is not going away anytime soon," said Jen Klein of the Biden administration's Gender Policy Council. "Tens of millions of Americans are living under bans of various sorts, many of them quite extreme, and even in states where abortion is legal, we're all seeing the impact on providers and on systems being loaded by people who are coming across state lines."

Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June, roughly half the states have some type of abortion restrictions in place, with at least 11 states essentially banning the procedure.

Administration officials are meeting Tuesday and Wednesday with state lawmakers ahead of their 2023 sessions, including in states with more extreme bans on the table, and will discuss safeguarding rights and helping women access care as top issues. The meetings follow sit-downs with roughly nine governors, attorneys general and Democratic state legislators from more than 30 states.

The administration, meanwhile, is implementing Biden's executive orders signed in July and August that directed federal agencies to push back on abortion restrictions and protect women traveling out of their state to seek one, though some women's rights advocates say it doesn't go far enough.

Submitted Photo Forrest City Area Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., recently held its Jingle Mingle Black Business Expo. The black-owned small businesses featured various items during the expo. The vendors were required to bring canned goods to support the St. Francis County Food Pantry. Pictured, from left, are: Willie Murdock, Lois Johnson, Tonia Grant, Roxanne Davis, Cornescha Wright, Michelle Sims, Reda Kirkwood, Donesha Boyd, Twon Whitby, Hazel Fingers, Dee Campbell, Bobbie Fingers, Markita Moore, Linda Morgan and Katie Jones.