White House press secretary Jen Psaki had a powerful response to a male reporter who inquired why President Joe Biden supports the right to an abortion, telling him “you have never faced those choices, nor have you ever been pregnant.”
On Thursday, Psaki was asked about the decision by the US Supreme Court earlier this week that allowed a restrictive abortion law to go into effect in Texas. The law effectively bans abortion at six weeks, which is earlier than when many people realise they’re pregnant, and puts citizens at the forefront of enforcement by offering a financial incentive to sue those who have helped someone seeking an abortion. The court denied a request by abortion providers in the state to prevent the law from going into effect.
Upon a male reporter inquiring why Biden supports abortion “when his own Catholic faith teaches abortion as morally wrong?”, Psaki responded forcefully: “He believes that it’s a woman’s right. It’s a woman’s body, and it’s her choice.”
The reporter pressed Psaki further and asked, “Who does he believe, then, should look out for the unborn child?”
In response, Psaki emphasised that Biden “believes that it is up to a woman to make those decisions, and up to a woman to make those decisions with her doctor.”
“I know you have never faced those choices, nor have you ever been pregnant, but for women out there who have faced those choices, this is an incredibly difficult thing. The president believes that right should be respected,” she fired back.
Earlier on Thursday, Biden issued a statement on the court’s ruling and lambasted the Texas law as “an unprecedented assault on a woman’s constitutional rights,” insisting that it “unleashes constitutional chaos.”
The statement criticised how the law deputises citizens, noting that people will “now be empowered to inject themselves in the most private and personal health decisions faced by women” and added that the court is allowing “millions of women in Texas in need of critical reproductive care to suffer while courts sift through procedural complexities.”
Biden said he would direct the Gender Policy Council and the Office of the White House Counsel to launch “a whole-of-government effort” to respond to the court’s decision and ensure that those seeking abortions in Texas can safely access them.