Young People Demand More From Biden on Abortion Access

Today, President Biden signed an executive order to protect and expand reproductive health care services, including efforts to safeguard access to medication abortion, and emergency contraception. In a speech with Vice President Harris, President Biden laid out the administration’s plans to increase public outreach, provide legal support, and launch a task force to coordinate other potential policies to protect access. 

“Every day, clinics across the South and Midwest are closing, people are scrambling for care as appointments are canceled, and right now someone is sitting in an ER with a nonviable ectopic pregnancy wondering how close to death they’ll have to be to get the care they need. This is a crisis that requires swift, courageous, and comprehensive action. According to new polling, young people overwhelmingly support abortion access and want to see more from elected officials to defend abortion from political attacks,” said Kimberly Inez McGuire (she/her/ella) Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity and Steering Committee Member of the Abortion On Our Own Terms campaign.

“Today’s announcement from the Biden-Harris administration is encouraging in that it shows a deepening commitment to protecting reproductive freedom. Still, we need to see more and stronger action in the coming days and weeks. Specifically:

• We need to see moral leadership from this administration with strong and stigma-free statements affirming abortion care as a human right, and elevating the disproportionate impact on Black women, trans folks, and young people.
• The President and Vice President need to meet directly with Reproductive Justice advocates, civil rights leaders, and people who have had abortions to strategize together.
• We support this call from Representative Ayanna Pressley and other Black women leaders that President Biden declares a public health emergency amid the current crisis of abortion access. 
• The administration must do more to unleash the potential of safe and effective medication abortion to meet the current crisis: access must be dramatically expanded and criminalization stopped. 
• Young people must be meaningfully included in all policy proposals. 
• The filibuster must be abolished to restore the democratic process and allow necessary and broadly supported legislation to proceed.

“We appreciate the administration for taking these first steps, but much more is needed, and we will continue to elevate young people’s needs, priorities, and concerns until they are fully and finally addressed.”