President Joe Biden told a reporter on the White House lawn Thursday to read the 1973 decision, Roe v. Wade, when asked to dive into which specific abortion restrictions he supports.
A reporter asked Biden if he supports any abortion restrictions and to name them specifically. In response, the president said he supports the ruling of Roe v. Wade, which allowed states to restrict abortion after the point of fetal viability, which generally falls between 22-24 weeks gestation.
“Should there be any restrictions on abortion at all? Any restrictions on abortion at all?” the reporter asked.
“Yes, there should be,” the president answered.
“What should they be?” the reporter asked.
“In Roe v. Wade! Read it, man. You’ll get educated,” he responded, before walking toward the helicopter en route to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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The White House and Democratic leaders have remained silent on specific abortion restrictions they support, though they have voiced their criticism over Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s proposal to ban abortion at a national level after 15 weeks of pregnancy to prevent an unborn child from feeling pain during the procedure. (RELATED: Biden Promises To Codify Roe V. Wade If Democrats Win Midterms)
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has repeatedly refused to answer any specific restrictions supported by the White House. At Tuesday’s briefing, RealClearPolitics reporter Philip Wegmann asked whether the president is willing to support any of the individual states’ restrictions implemented before the Supreme Court overturned Roe in June.
Jean-Pierre said the president supports the provisions written in Roe v. Wade, but did not specify any restrictions backed by the White House.
“He believes in Roe and how it stood before the Dobbs decision,” she answered.
Democratic candidates have responded similarly to the White House on this question, calling abortion, at any stage, a personal decision between a woman and her medical professional. When asked if she supports no limit on abortion, Democratic Arizona gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs told “Face the Nation” on October 11 that politicians should have no interference in regards to abortion.
“I support leaving the decision between a woman and her doctor and leaving politicians entirely out of it,” she answered.
All Senate Democrats, except for West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, voted in May for legislation that would have ended federal bans on partial-birth and sex-selective abortions. The bill would also would have also overridden state and local laws requiring a woman to be presented with an ultrasound before undergoing the procedure.