President Biden met virtually Friday with Democratic state governors to discuss abortion rights, and he offered an ominous prediction on what he sees happening in the wake of last week's overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court. Reuters notes that, as a result of that ruling, women in states where abortion is (or will soon be) banned or otherwise restricted may resort to traveling to states where they can legally access the procedure. That's when Biden anticipates the law stepping in. "People are gonna be shocked when the first state ... tries to arrest a woman for crossing a state line to get health services," the president told his audience of governors from nine states that have promised to help protect abortion rights, per USA Today.
Biden added: "I don't think people believe that's gonna happen. But it's gonna happen, and it's gonna telegraph to the whole country that this is a gigantic deal that goes beyond—I mean, it affects all your basic rights." Axios notes 16 states still guarantee access to abortion, and some of the governors in the meeting asserted they wouldn't cooperate with other states trying to criminalize women traveling for abortions. "We will not extradite," New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told her counterparts and Biden.
The president vowed that the federal government will do its part to help protect women who make such a trip, as well as ensure that women in states where FDA-approved abortion medication is banned can access it. Biden also noted there aren't currently enough Democratic votes in the Senate to eliminate the filibuster and codify Roe v. Wade, and so it's crucial Democrats come out in droves during the midterms. "The choice is clear," he said, per USA Today. "We either elect federal senators and representatives who will codify Roe ... [or Republicans] will try to ban abortion nationwide." (More abortion stories.)
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