The White House is discussing possible responses to Alabama court decision
Source: NBC News
Feb. 23, 2024, 10:44 AM EST
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is discussing possible legal and policy options to respond to the Alabama Supreme Court’s in vitro fertilization decision and support affected Americans in Alabama, as well as other states where IVF access could be at risk, according to administration officials familiar with the discussions.
The effort involves officials from the White House, the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, the officials said. The discussions are in the early stages and no decisions have been made, officials said. One source familiar with the discussions cautioned that the administration’s power to issue any executive action to protect IVF access is limited and much of the battle over the issue will be fought politically.
President Joe Biden's aides are also brainstorming how he can capitalize on the Alabama decision as he campaigns for re-election, including new ways to speak about reproductive rights that frame the issue as one that broadly affects Americans. To that end, officials said, the Biden team will begin referring to reproductive rights as a “family, not just a woman’s, issue” and make the case that Republicans can’t make these decisions for “families.”
Officials said Biden now plans to address access to IVF, and the fallout from the Alabama decision, during his State of the Union address on March 7, with the possibility of the White House inviting a guest who was affected by the ruling to attend the speech. Already, first lady Jill Biden will host Kate Cox, a 31-year-old Dallas mom who sued to terminate her nonviable pregnancy in Texas, as a guest for the State of the Union.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/white-house-discussing-possible-responses-alabama-court-decision-rcna140176
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