A White House reporter pressed White House press secretary Jen Psaki on President Joe Biden’s support of lifting abortion restrictions at Friday’s briefing.
A reporter asked about the Women’s Health Protection Act that intended to legalize abortion throughout a woman’s pregnancy and eliminate several restrictions and bans on partial-birth abortion and lift conscience protections for healthcare workers. The legislation failed to pass the Senate after all Republicans, along with Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, voted against it during a Tuesday floor vote.
The reporter asked if the president supports lifting restrictions included in the bill that would allow for sex-selective abortions and parental consent for minors.
“The president believes in codifying Roe and there are a range of ways to do that,” Psaki replied.
“That’s not an answer to the specific policy question, where is the president on these specific restrictions? No one here doubts that the president supports Roe v. Wade and codifying it,” the reporter continued. “But there’s allegations that this proposed bill goes farther, so where does he stand?” (RELATED: Manchin Joins Republicans To Doom Far-Left Abortion Bill)
“The bill failed,” Psaki continued. “The president supports the bill.”
The bill passed the House of Representatives in September, with Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar being the only Democrat to vote against it. The legislation initially failed to be brought to a debate in February after Manchin and all 50 Republicans opposed a cloture vote.
Pro-Roe v. Wade Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska opposed the bill due to the provisions ending sex selective abortions and ending conscience protections.
Biden had vowed to codify Roe since the beginning of his presidency, saying in a 2021 statement that the administration is “committed” to doing so.