US Department of Health asks governors to allow abortions when the mother is at risk

The Secretary of Health of the United States, Xavier Becerra, sent a letter to the governors reminding them that the laws they approve must comply with federal regulations that guarantee the protection of women's health.

Since the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the constitutional protection of the right to abortion in force since 1973 , many conservative states have rushed to pass laws that restrict and even prohibit it, also in cases of incest or rape.

Given these actions, the Biden government recently approved a rule that requires all states, whatever their law regarding abortion, must allow terminations of pregnancy in the event of a medical emergency.

The letter warns that “current or future abortion restriction laws do not end the responsibility that physicians have to provide access to emergency health care under federal law,” the White House explained in a statement.

The letter also asks the governors of the states that have not restricted abortion to provide facilities for access to women from territories in which this reproductive right has been limited or prohibited.

For his part, Joe Biden himself insisted in a meeting with politicians from the Democratic Party in the White House that legislators must approve the protection of abortion by law , although he acknowledged that at this time the Democrats do not have the necessary majority in the Senate.

“The only way this will happen is if the American people make it happen in November,” the president said, referring to midterm elections in which Democrats could win an even larger majority in the Senate that will allow them legislate on abortion.

The US Department of Health (HHS) also developed an action plan "in response to the decision of the Supreme Court", a guide that invites states to extend access to women from other territories who want to travel to receive the treatments they need . are denied in their place of residence.

“Since the Supreme Court's decision, we have known hard stories of women who do not have access to the care they need due to the new abortion restriction laws, and we have seen legislative chambers that try to confuse women by saying that they protect them while making abortion a crime. abortion,” lamented Becerra.

The Secretary of Health promised that his department will continue to take “concrete measures such as inviting governors to protect women's access to reproductive care, including abortion.”

On the other hand, the White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, lamented in a statement the entry into force of new laws that practically prohibit abortion in Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas and that "criminalize" it without exceptions, not even for cases of rape or incest.

“It is the latest attack on the fundamental rights of Americans” and is part of the Republican Party's effort to “roll back the freedoms” that the country had for half a century.

“Congress should act immediately to restore the protection of Roe v. Wade and the American people should make his voice heard,” Jean-Pierre said in a message.