Biden To Promise Codify Roe If Democrats Hold Congress

President Joe Biden plans to promise to codify Roe v. Wade into law if Democrats manage to add Senate seats and hold control of the House of Representatives in November, making it the first bill he would send to the new Congress.

Biden will make the pledge at a Democratic National Committee event Tuesday afternoon at The Howard theater in Washington. He will promise to sign the legislation on Jan. 22, 2023 — the 50th anniversary of the original Roe decision.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed the right to an abortion in the United States, earlier this year in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In the months since, nearly half of the 50 states have either banned abortion or are set to do so shortly.

The backlash to the Dobbs decision dramatically changed Democrats’ political fortunes, stanching what appeared to be a burgeoning Republican wave election. In his speech, Biden will emphasize that Republicans want to criminally prosecute doctors who perform abortion and pass a national abortion ban.

The intransigence of Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on changing the terms of the filibuster has stymied Democratic efforts to codify the right to abortion after the Dobbs decision, meaning Democrats would have to pick up two Senate seats to make Biden’s pledge a reality.

Holding the House might be the tougher task. Political forecasters still consider Republicans heavy favorites to win control of the chamber.