An Open Letter to President Biden on the Repeal of Roe v. Wade

 

Dear President Biden,

         I was encouraged to see you endorse the elimination of the filibuster in order to pass legislation protecting women’s reproductive rights and health. We have never faced a comparable crisis in our nation’s history, in which a single ruling of the Supreme Court stripped protections from millions of people, turning them instantly into second-class citizens. Truly drastic measures are justified.

         I would urge you to make the passage of such legislation a priority of your administration. The bill that is needed would be a strict codification of the protections afforded by Roe, with a guarantee of free access to abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy and clear limits on the power of the government to regulate reproductive health in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Such a narrowly construed bill will be difficult to pass. Conservative members of the Democratic caucus will fear it is too bold a step, progressives will feel it does not go far enough. It is for precisely this reason that the bill must cleave as closely as possible to the stipulations of Roe. A return to the status quo ante stands the greatest chance of overcoming factional resistance.

        Such a bill is imperative both in principle and as politics. In principle it is the only way to restore full citizenship to millions of Americans. As politics it will force the GOP to run on a platform of repealing women’s rights, thus fully revealing one of the most malignant impulses that now animates the Republican Party as an electoral coalition. Codifying Roe is not only the right thing to do, it is the last hope your party has of generating support for this fall’s midterm election. It would be a chance to show Americans that Democrats can, in acting on their beliefs, make citizens’ lives better.

      Of course, such a bill would not be enough. The Constitution will have to be amended to protect Americans of all genders’ rights against the continued assaults of sexism, racism, and homophobia. But that is a long term fight. For now the malignant actions of the Court must be countermanded. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

                  Sincerely,

                Andrew Meyer