Biden using abortion to mobilize Democrat base for mid-terms
Washington, Oct 18 (EFE).- President Joe Biden on Tuesday strongly defended abortion in an attempt to mobilize the Democratic base three weeks before the mid-term elections.
“The choice and the stakes are crystal clear – especially when it comes to the right to choose,” said Biden in a speech to a mostly younger crowd at the Howard Theatre in Washington DC, adding that “You gotta get out the vote; we can do this if we vote,” and calling this year’s mid-terms “the most consequential (election) in our history.”
Biden promised that, if his party manages to increase the narrow majority it currently holds in Congress, the first thing he will do will be to call for the approval of a law protecting the right to abortion on the federal level after the conservative-majority Supreme Court revoked that right in June.
According to recent surveys, including one published on Monday in The New York Times, Americans currently are more concerned about the state of the economy than about the loss of the right to abortion, a situation that could benefit Republicans in the upcoming legislative elections to renew the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate, along with many other state and local races.
Thus, Biden on Tuesday gave a speech in which he urged Americans not to forget the “anger” and “disbelief” they felt after the high court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling protecting women’s right to terminate their pregnancies.
The Supreme Court could proceed to take away other constitutional rights, including same-sex marriage, the president suggested.
“Republicans are doubling down on their extreme positions,” Biden said, ending his speech by shouting “Vote! Vote! Vote!”
Since the Supreme Court ended the federal protection for abortion in June, 12 of the country’s 50 states have completely banned abortions, according to Planned Parenthood, the organization managing the largest network of reproductive health clinics in the US.
EFE bpm/mgr/si/bp
