Biden calls on Congress to relax Senate rules codifying Roe v. Wade

President Joe Biden On Thursday he said he would support suspending the Senate filibuster rule codifying the constitutional right to abortion, as established by the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

His comments represent significant support for suspending a significant procedural hurdle that has so far prevented Senate Democrats from passing legislation that would make the decision federal law. Current Senate rules require the majority party to garner 60 votes to overcome a minority’s attempt to block the advance of a bill, a procedural action known as a filibuster.

“I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade into law. And the way to do that is to make sure Congress votes,” Biden told reporters in Spain.

But with the Senate’s 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans, the GOP has been able to use the filibuster rule to block the thin Democratic majority from approving abortion bills.

“If the filibuster gets in the way, it’s like the right to vote, we provide an exception for that,” Biden said. “We need an exception for Filebuster for this action.”

The president reiterated his stance later in the day in a post on Twitter.

Biden’s remarks come a week after the nation’s highest court overturned nearly 50 years of legal precedenty Reversing his original opinion that women have a constitutional right to abort. They also mark the first time that the president has publicly supported changing the filibuster rules to pass legislation codifying Roe v. Wade into law.

The court’s controversial decision last week now gives states the power to pass their own abortion laws without worrying about running behind Roe’s opinion, which allowed abortions during the first two trimesters of pregnancy. Was.

The president said he would meet with state governors on Friday to discuss their options until Democrats in Congress solidify their response. Echoing the belief held by many Democrats, Biden said there is “a serious, serious problem that the Supreme Court has imposed on the United States.”

“I’m going to do everything I can legally do to protect abortion, as well as advance Congress and the public,” he said.

But even with Biden’s backing that doesn’t mean Democrats will be able to force abortion legislation through the Senate. That’s because, while the filibuster can be replaced by a simple majority, not all Senate Democrats are behind the idea of ​​tossing the way to future Republican majority checks.

For example, Moderate Democrat sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kirsten Cinemas of Arizona have said they are against changes to the filibuster rules.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who opposes any changes to the filibuster rule, criticized Biden’s remarks.

“It is below the dignity of the President to attack a major American institution like the Supreme Court from the world stage,” he said in a press release on Thursday. “Biden’s attacks on the Court are useless and dangerous. He is upset that the Court said that people, through their elected representatives, will have their say on abortion policy.”