© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo
2/2
By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Cheered by a decisive victory for abortion rights in the Kansas vote and eyeing the midterm elections in November, the White House is launching a push for abortion rights aimed at The aim is to affect men as well as women, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The Biden administration’s three-pronged book draws on two specific federal statutes to target states that restrict abortion, inform voters of the impact on women, and emphasize coercion. How pregnancy negatively affects both women and men.
Senior White House officials, advisers and abortion rights advocates have held numerous strategic calls and engagements in recent days, including an August 4 call with nearly 2,000 participants. members, the sources said, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private meetings.
Abortion rights advocates have accused the administration of US President Joe Biden in the past of being slow to proceed around a Supreme Court ruling in June that ended the constitutional right to abortion. Biden’s two executive orders and engagement with key stakeholders led by Vice President Kamala Harris have allayed some concerns, several people told Reuters.
Lawrence Gostin, faculty director of the Georgetown University Institute of National and Global Health Law, who has worked with the White House, said the White House is “really doing their best to promote their message on the issue. midterm abortion”. House. “They hope this goes well among suburban women and that’s Biden’s advantage in the presidential election.”
A senior White House official said the administration thinks the issue could win support among many Republican voters in the midterms.
NEW STRATEGY
The Biden administration plans to rely on two specific federal laws, which predate the abortion ruling, to combat legal challenges – the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) and the Rights of FDA priority under the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (FDCA), the sources said.
EMTALA requires hospitals that accept Medicare funds to provide medical treatment to people with medical emergencies. That includes offering a woman an abortion if her life is in danger https://www.reuters.com/legal/go Government/hhs-says-federal-law-preempts-state- abortion-bans-emergency-situations-2022-07 -11.
The law is the backbone of the US Department of Justice’s case against the state of Idaho, but can be difficult to enforce, some legal experts say https://www.reuters.com/legal/go Government/federal -guidance-life-saving -abortions-put-doctor-bind-2022-07-20.
The FDA’s prerogative argues that states cannot ban an approved abortion drug because federal law preempts or applies state law. More than 30 states have enacted laws restricting access to drugs.
Mini Timmaraju, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, who is also working with the White House on the matter, said litigation strategy is key.
“It’s not just executive orders and policies, it’s (legal) enforcement,” she said.
VOTING, RESEARCH AND MESSAGES
Sources said the White House plans to replicate the success in Kansas. Sources said they are closely watching similar ballot initiatives in California, Kentucky, Michigan and Vermont and directorial races like Michigan, where abortion has become a major issue. heart.
In Kansas, a team from the Democratic National Committee made about 30,000 phone calls and sent more than 130,000 text messages to help turn the vote around.
The White House is compiling research on the physical and emotional harm women face if they are denied an abortion, as well as the economic impact that forced pregnancy can have on men. , women and families; and plans to communicate that to voters with a consistent messaging plan, the sources said.
The sources said they would target men in the message, asking them to consider how their sisters, nieces, cousins could be affected if abortions are not performed and think Think about the costs associated with supporting an unwanted pregnancy.
In 2020, the National Office of Economic Research found that women who are forced to give birth unexpectedly face medical costs related to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum recovery, and more. birth in addition to the costs associated with raising a child in excess of $9,000 a year.
Another message would be aimed at religious Americans, telling them they don’t need to change their faith to support abortion rights, they just need to resist excessive government outreach, they said. .
“The idea is to be much more disciplined and consistent in getting the message across to Americans on a daily basis,” said one of the sources.
