President Biden says he’d support ending filibuster in effort to codify right to abortion

President Biden on Thursday said he would support changing the Senate filibuster rules in order to codify abortion protections into federal law.

This comes after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. The Court’s ruling now leaves the legality of abortion up to each state to decide for themselves.

Speaking at a press conference in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday, the president condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling, calling it “destabilizing” and “outrageous.”

“I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law, and the way to do that is to make sure Congress votes to do that,” Biden said. “And if the filibuster gets in the way, it’s like voting rights, we require an exception to the filibuster for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision.”

Biden dismissed critics who blame him for America’s record-high inflation and rising gas prices, insisting that America is stronger than ever. He primarily focused on undoing the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe.

“America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been,” Biden said. “We have the strongest economy in the world, our inflation rates are lower than other nations in the world. The one thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of the United States on overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy.”

Biden added, “I’m going to do everything in my power which I legally can do in terms of executive orders, as well as push the Congress and the public. The bottom line here is if you care, if the polling data is correct, and you think this decision by the court was an outrage or a significant mistake — vote. Show up and vote. Vote in the off year and vote, vote, vote. That’s how we’ll change it.”