US President Joe Biden pledged to take every step his administration can to protect abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision on Friday, and called on voters to elect state and federal officials who will vote to allow the procedure.
Biden termed the decision by the Supreme Court to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling and restore the right of states to restrict abortions as a sad day for the court and for the country.
"It's a sad day for the court and for the country. This decision must not be the final word," President Biden said in his address. During his remarks at the White House on Friday, Biden at one point added, "It just stuns me" adding that poor women would be hit the hardest by the decision.
Biden called on Congress to take action to codify protections for abortions into federal law, stressing the importance of voters casting ballots in favour of pro-abortion candidates during elections this fall.
The US President called on Congress to restore abortion protections into law and pointed to the November midterm elections, saying, "this fall, Roe is on the ballot." He urged protests to be conducted peacefully and said violence is never acceptable.
"This decision must not be the final word," Biden said.
Biden stated that the decision by the top court removes a constitutional right from the Americans and moves the nation back 150 years.
"The court literally is taking America back 150 years," he added.
United Nations Women said that reproductive rights are integral to women's rights, a fact that is upheld by international agreements and reflected in law in different parts of the world.
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) said that reproductive rights are women's rights and human rights.
"To be able to exercise their human rights and make essential decisions, women need to be able to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to information, education and services," a statement by UN Women said.
UN Women said that when safe and legal access to abortion is restricted women are forced to resort to less safe methods, too often with damaging or disastrous results - especially for women who are affected by poverty or marginalization, including minority women.
"The ability of women to control what happens to their own bodies is also associated with the roles women are able to play in society, whether as a member of the family, the workforce, or government," UN Women added in its statement.
The Supreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade, eliminating the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion and ruled that states may regulate the practice of it.The decision was announced on Friday by a majority of conservative justices.
( With inputs from ANI )
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