A prominent abortion rights group on Friday threw its support behind President Biden’s reelection campaign, arguing that the Biden administration’s record on reproductive health and the “existential” threat of a return of a Trump administration outweigh its lackluster performance in the debates.
As Democratic lawmakers, strategists and activists panicked throughout the day about whether Biden could lead the party into November, abortion rights activists said they believe he is the best person for the job.
“We strongly believe that uniting behind him is the most strategic move,” said Mini Timaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All.
“We can say with confidence that the outcome will be Joe Biden, the only presidential candidate who believes in a future where people have the freedom to decide if, when and how to start a family,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
Biden faced off against former President Trump in a debate on Thursday night that ended disastrously, including on the issue of abortion, one of the Democratic Party’s top priorities, with Biden offering muddled and unclear answers on the subject.
Asked whether he would support any restrictions on abortion, Biden awkwardly defended Roe v. Wade, whose codification of standards under that ruling has become a central tenet of the Democratic Party this term.
“I uphold Roe v. Wade for three terms,” Biden said, “the first between women and doctors, the second between doctors and extreme circumstances, and the third between doctors — women and the state.”
Biden called ending federal abortion protections a “horrible thing” but did little to counter Trump’s false claims about so-called “late-term abortions.”
“Six weeks later, they don’t even know if they’re pregnant, they don’t have access to a doctor to find out what’s going on and if they need help,” Biden said.
Abortion rights leaders acknowledged Friday that Biden had a tough debate but said his administration’s track record in the two years since Roe was overturned shows he will be a bulwark against future efforts to restrict abortion access.
“Donald Trump is an existential threat to women and to this entire country,” said Fatima Goss Graves, executive director of the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund. “A weak debate performance doesn’t put women’s lives at risk, but if Trump becomes president again? That’s dangerous.”
Timaraju praised the Biden campaign’s use of surrogates, including surrogates like Amanda Zulawski and Kate Cox who have spoken out about their own experiences with abortions.
“Their voices, and the actual content of Donald Trump bragging about Roe, is the most effective way for us to fight back, and I think they’re doing a good job of that,” Timaraju said.
But in a separate interview, Norbez Flint, president of All Above All and the All Above All Action Fund, groups that focus on reproductive justice for women of color, said she expects more from Biden.
“The president missed an opportunity to articulate the difference between him and President Trump, what this moment means, what this election means, what is at stake,” Flynt said.
Flynt said reinstating Roe would be a return to 1973, not a step forward.
“[Biden] “I missed the mark last night, but there’s still a while until the election,” Flynt said. “I think it’s even more important to hear from the campaign and the president himself about the differences between him and Trump on abortion rights, and especially how his proposed solutions address the current situation.”
