Biden, who clears Gaza protesters during the rally, calls for the restoration of abortion rights
President Biden led a rally in support of abortion rights on Tuesday, trying to focus on an issue that has galvanized his supporters even as he was interrupted every few minutes by at least 10 people protesting the war in Gaza , an issue that reared its ugly head just as quickly. divided Democrats.
Mr. Biden, a practicing Catholic who is a reluctant supporter of abortion rights, has relied on Vice President Kamala Harris as the most outspoken activist in his administration. But on Tuesday, in front of a banner reading “Restore Roe,” Mr. Biden raised his voice in support of Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion before the Supreme Court overturned it in 2022.
His shouts also helped drown out the voices of people waving Palestinian flags, shouting “Genocide Joe” and demanding a ceasefire. “Please don't jump,” he told a protester waving a sign on a balcony.
“They feel deeply,” Mr. Biden said at another point. (The anti-war group CodePink later claimed credit for organizing the protest.)
The moment was a convergence of one promising election issue and another that threatened to overshadow Biden's presidency and diminish his chances with more progressive corners of the Democratic electorate. Different parts of the crowd – supporters and demonstrators – clapped or shouted, illustrating the conflict in real time.
Faced with screaming protesters, Mr. Biden quickly read from his prepared remarks and did not respond to individual demonstrators as he has done at previous events.
“We can make Roe the law of America again,” Mr. Biden said, his voice rising. “Are you ready to make it happen? To do that we need a new Congress. Are you ready for that to happen?”
It was a standout compared to Mr. Biden's comments on the issue just seven months ago, when he told supporters of his re-election campaign that he “not into abortion' because of his faith, but that Roe 'got it right'. Mr. Biden, through his personal beliefs, has focused on the issue as one rooted in personal freedom and privacy.
The different styles of the president and vice president were on display from Monday, when Ms. Harris held an event in Wisconsin to draw attention to Republican-led moves in the state to impose an abortion ban dating back to 1849. She criticized former President Donald J. Trump and asked the audience to applaud a couple who were denied health care by doctors while experiencing pregnancy complications.
Arriving for his rally on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Biden met face-to-face with Dr Austin Dennard, who had to leave Texas to have an abortion when her pregnancy developed complications.
He also met with Amanda Zurawski, who is suing the state of Texas after she was denied an abortion when her waters broke at 18 weeks. She developed sepsis and said she was almost dead of the infection. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which argued the case for Roe before the Supreme Court, 21 more women have joined as plaintiffs in this lawsuit.
“I had to wait until I got so sick until my life was considered in danger” before doctors would perform the abortion, Ms. Zurawski told the crowd she had lost her daughter, who she named Willow. “It took three days and a near-death crash in septic shock before my doctor was finally able to provide the health care I so desperately needed,” she said.
Ms. Zurawski blamed Mr. Trump, who has recently bragged about overturning Roe. “It is inconceivable that anyone could support this abortion ban that almost cost my life.”
She received a hug from Mr. Biden, who told the crowd he would continue to fight for reproductive rights. But sweeping abortion action remains unlikely given Congress's divided control. Democrats lack votes in the Senate, and Mr. Biden cannot protect Roe through executive action.
His government tried to maintain access to the abortion drug mifepristone, but that quickly ran into legal trouble. The Supreme Court announced it would hear a case challenging the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the widely used pill.
Tuesday's event was largely attended by volunteers and staff from abortion rights groups. Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris were joined on stage by Jill Biden, the first lady, and Doug Emhoff, Ms. Harris' husband.
Mr. Emhoff has organized events on reproductive rights and said Tuesday that reproductive freedom “is not just a women's issue, it's an everyone's issue.” Dr. Biden, who has previously rebuked “extremist Republicans,” repeated a story she shared before the 2022 midterm elections about a friend who became pregnant when abortion was illegal and left Dr. Biden had stayed.
“Secrecy, shame, silence, danger, even death,” Dr. Biden said, repeating the message she had previously shared. “That's what defined that era for so many women, and thanks to Dobbs, we're back there,” she said, referring to the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe.
Ms. Harris also echoed much of what she said Monday in Wisconsin, sharing stories of women who suffered miscarriages in restrooms because they were denied health care, and women who were turned away from emergency rooms because doctors were reluctant to provide care.
“Do we trust women? Do we believe in reproductive freedom? Do we believe in the promise of America?” she shouted, as the audience rose to their feet. “Are we ready to fight for it?”
Mini Timmaraju, the president of Reproductive Freedom for All — formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice America — said in an interview that she had seen Mr. Biden “evolve” on his support for abortion rights. But she said the Biden administration needed to do more to highlight what is needed to codify Roe's protections, and to warn about what could happen to reproductive rights if Mr. Trump were to win the presidency.
“We need everyone singing from the same songbook,” she said, and “talking about what a Trump presidency would do.”
Rep. Jennifer McClellan, Democrat of Virginia, said Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris had different campaign styles when it came to Roe, but each appealed to different segments of the Democratic electorate.
“I think they're very different people with different styles in pretty much everything,” Ms. McClellan said. “But the Democrats are not a monolith. This country is not a monolith. We need people who can speak to every generation and every demographic.”