White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre urged Congress to pass a national right to abortion on Friday in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court decision but shied away from previewing any new actions President Joe Biden might take on the matter.
The Alabama ruling, which found that frozen embryos are children, drew ire from not only Democrats but also Republicans, unlike past debates on reproductive rights following the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Critics of the Alabama ruling suggest the decision endangers in vitro fertilization, and several clinics in the state have halted fertility programs while they study the ruling’s ramifications.
During Friday’s White House press briefing, Jean-Pierre claimed people should be “concerned” that Alabama’s ruling could “spread” to other Republican states.
“The only way to fix this, the best way to fix this, is to restore Roe,” she told reporters. “This is the chaos that has come out of getting rid of Roe, which was the law of the land for almost 50 years.”
“I think the way that we fix this or the way that we get to a place where women feel protected with decisions on their own bodies, families can make a decision on how to move forward and grow their family or starting a family, is to restore Roe,” Jean-Pierre continued.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Still, the press secretary was hesitant to preview any next steps Biden might take. She bristled at a question suggesting opponents to the ruling were concerned that Biden has not spoken directly on it and would not say if the president would sign legislation being worked on by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) aimed at protecting IVF should it make it to his desk.
You can watch Friday’s briefing in full below.
