US: Joe Biden pledges codification of Roe v. Wade if Democratic Party keeps majority in Congress

US President Joe Biden pledged that the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion would be codified into law should the Democratic Party maintains control of both chambers of Congress. This comes as Biden is looking to shore up more support for members of his party in the upcoming midterm elections.

Speaking at the Howard Theater in Washington Tuesday, Biden pledged that abortion rights would be codified into law if the Democratic Party maintains control of both the House and the Senate in the coming midterms.

The US leader is highlighting abortion rights as a key issue in the midterm races in November, following the Supreme Court’s Conservative majority striking down the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling guaranteeing the woman’s right to choose.

Should Democrats succeed in electing more senators and hold the House majority, Biden said he would sign a law by January to codify reproductive rights.

“Here is the promise I make to you and the American people: The first bill that I will send to Congress will be to codify Roe v. Wade,” said Biden.

The Democratic party currently holds a slim majority in the House of Representatives. The party controls the evenly divided Senate, with vice president Kamala Harris as the tiebreaking vote. However, to pass abortion rights in the Senate would require 60 out of 100 senators to support the legislation, with Republicans opposing abortion rights.

Even with abortion rights on the ballot, the issue of inflation is also at the forefront. In a nationwide opinion poll on the issues that would get voters to turn up in November, only eight percent said abortion rights will influence how they vote compared to the 27 percent that cited inflation.

On the same day, Biden also unveiled the plan to counter biological threats and prepare for the next pandemic following the COVID-19 pandemic that led to more than one million people dead in the country.

The US leader signed three biodefense security documents that would establish a strategy and a plan to implement the next time there is a virus outbreak in the country.

The White House released the documents, called the National Biodefense Strategy, that said the country must address the “accidental release of biological agents, and threats posed by terrorist groups or adversaries seeking to use biological weapons.”