President Joe Biden and his staff are considering declaring a public health emergency if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court, according to a new report.
Biden would use the declaration of a public health emergency to shield doctors from legal liability for treating patients in a state where they are not licensed, according to a report in the New York Times.
Other ideas include allowing doctors practicing in states that ban abortions to perform them on federal sites, such as military bases.
Biden signaled his willingness to use executive action to blunt any state and local laws on abortion during an interview with ABC comedian/activist Jimmy Kimmel.
The president warned that overturning Roe v. Wade would cause a “mini-revolution” in the United States.
“It’s just ridiculous in my view and I don’t think the country will stand for it, but I think what we’re going to have to do, there’s some executive orders I could employ, we believe, we’re looking at that right now,” he said.
Biden’s staff appears more than willing to weaponize emergency and wartime executive powers in politically fraught situations.
The president threatened oil companies in a letter on Wednesday, warning them he was considering using his emergency powers to force the industry to produce more gasoline in the United States.
Earlier this month, the president used the Defensive Production Act to suspend tariffs on solar panels for two years to try and boost the solar industry.
In May, Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to try and address the infant formula shortage.
Story cited here.
