Joe Biden urged to use federal facilities to provide abortion services

US President Joe Biden recently spoke with Democratic Governors of several states over the repercussions of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The governors have called on Biden to make use of federal facilities to provide abortion services.

In a virtual conference with nine Democratic state governors, Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Kathy Hochul of New York, Jared Polis of Colorado, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Kate Brown of Oregon, JB Pritzker of Illinois, Jay Inslee of Washington, Ned Lamont of Connecticut, and Dan McKee of Rhode Island to discuss the repercussions following the Supreme Court’s decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Biden criticized the court’s decision to overturn a woman’s right to get an abortion, describing the ruling as “tragic” and that he also shared the public’s outrage. Biden also reiterated his commitment to using the federal government to continue abortion access where it allows and called to elect more Democrats who support women’s reproductive rights.

Grisham and Hochul said using federal facilities such as Veterans’ Affairs hospitals, Indian Health Service Clinics, and military bases to provide women access to abortion.

“We ask that you consider your ability to use federal facilities,” said Hochul, citing “veterans’ hospitals, military bases, and other places where the federal government controls the jurisdiction in some of the states that are hostile to women’s rights and make sure those services are available to other women.”

Grisham echoed Hochul’s comments, saying that Native nations in her state have informed her that they would allow abortion services at IHS facilities.

In other related news, a group of lawmakers is calling on Biden to take action by filing a formal request for consultations with India at the World Trade Organization over the alleged “dangerous trade-distorting practices.”

In a letter to Biden, 12 lawmakers said the current WTO rules allow governments to subsidize up to 10 percent of the value of production. However, the Indian government has subsidized over half of the value of production for several commodities such as rice and wheat.

The lack of “rule-following” by India and the lack of response from the Biden administration has apparently reshaped the global agricultural production and trade channels by lowering prices and depressing the production of rice and wheat commodities, which put American producers at an advantage, according to the lawmakers.