GLAAD RESPONDS TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S EXECUTIVE ORDER PROTECTING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE AND ABORTION ACCESS

GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to President Biden’s Executive Order on Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services signed this morning. The order expands protections for medication abortion, contraception, emergency medical services, and patient privacy. The order also makes it clear that the Biden administration will direct legal resources to support efforts to bring court challenges against state and local healthcare restrictions, a fact sheet on the White House website explains.

 

Quote from GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis:
“Abortion is an LGBTQ issue. Bodily autonomy and access to healthcare is a shared struggle for women and the LGBTQ community, especially when it comes to abortion and transgender healthcare. President Biden’s executive order is a necessary step to protect the health of Americans and to stem the constant state-level attacks on our bodies and our right to access life-saving medical care. Congress needs to also urgently act by restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade as federal law, as well as passing the Equality Act and codifying decisions like Griswold v. Connecticut, Lawrence v. Texas, and Obergefell v. Hodges.” 

 

The executive order comes two days after GLAAD published a media guide for journalists covering abortion; the media guide offers guidance on inclusive terminology, statistics on abortion in the LGBTQ community, and context on the parallels between healthcare bans targeting abortion and transgender care.