President Joe Biden would “absolutely” support the use of federal funds to improve abortion access for Americans and ease some economic costs for those seeking such services, he revealed in an interview.
Biden responded to a question from Danielle Mathisen, a 26-year-old medical resident, who asked the president during an exclusive interview with NowThis News whether he would support federal funding to pay for child care and time off work for women seeking an abortion.
“The answer is absolutely … I do support that,” Biden said.
Mathisen noted that in recent months, some large U.S. companies across multiple sectors championed their workplace’s health plans that would cover out-of-state abortion costs for employees.
“I’ve publicly urged companies to do that,” Biden said, praising corporations that have stepped in to help women more easily obtain abortions. “I’ve urged them publicly as President of the United States saying, ‘This is what you should be doing,'” he said.
“I urge you to do it because there’s so many, and imagine the women who need that kind of assistance but have no money at all to be able to do this. None,” the president added. “How, how—what do they do? They don’t have the option.”
The interview will air across the social media-focused news organization on Sunday.
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to overturn Roe Vs. Wade in June, some large U.S. corporations, including Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft, Starbucks, and JPMorgan Chase, among dozens of others, have offered travel benefits and financial support for women seeking abortions in states where it continues to be legal to receive such a procedure.
Democrats Push to Legalize Nationwide Abortion
This week, in Biden’s latest attempt to rally voters just three weeks ahead of the midterm elections, the president promised to push a bill in Congress that would ensure nationwide access to abortion if the Democrats secure a majority in both chambers.
Speaking at a Democratic National Committee event on Tuesday, Biden said he’s looking to sign the bill early next year to codify Roe v. Wade. This would require Democrats to not only hold onto control of the House, but also expand their slim 51–50 majority in the Senate in the upcoming midterm.
“Folks, if we do that, here’s the promise I make to you and the American people: The first bill that I will send to the Congress will be to codify Roe v. Wade, and when Congress passes that, I’ll sign it in January,” the president told his audience at Howard Theater in Washington, D.C.
The Senate is currently under Democrat control, with one vote from Vice President Kamala Harris to break ties. This means Republicans need a net gain of just one seat to flip the upper chamber in their favor.
Even having 50 Senate seats is not enough for Democrats to advance their agenda. They need at least 52 to kill a Republican filibuster.
Epoch Times reporter Bill Pan contributed to this report.
