President Joe Biden will sign a second executive order Wednesday, in an effort to maintain some level of access to abortions.
The executive order is expected to be signed during the inaugural meeting of the administration’s recently established Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access.
The task force is comprised of representatives from multiple departments across the federal government. Cabinet members are also expected to brief the President on steps their respective agencies have taken “to defend reproductive rights” at Wednesday’s meeting, an administration official told reporters Tuesday, reports CNN News.
According to the White House, the executive order will direct Health and Human Services to provide assistance to women who need to travel to obtain an abortion. However, Biden’s order does not detail how this could be achieved.
The order hints that Medicaid could provide travel assistance for those who need to travel across state lines to get an abortion. This could be accomplished through a Medicaid 1115 waiver that allows states to waive certain state-based requirements in providing care and assist in covering “certain costs.”
Currently, government-subsidized Medicaid health insurance plans cover medically necessary abortions in only 16 states and do not reimburse patients who leave their state to seek an abortion.
Last month, a bill guaranteeing women the right to travel across state lines to seek abortions failed to pass the Senate after Republicans blocked the measure.
Following the supreme court’s June decision overturning Roe v Wade, the landmark ruling that codified abortion rights for half a century, the procedure is now banned in at least 10 states and partially banned in another four states, according to The Guardian.
Pressure on the Biden administration to act has ramped up as women in states where abortion is banned or restricted increasingly find themselves in dangerous, life-threatening situations. This includes women with miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.
Ultimately, however, there is no action the President can take to restore the nationwide right to an abortion, and Biden has publicly acknowledged that his options to expand abortion access remain limited.
