Biden White House slams Texas heartbeat bill as ‘assault on fundamental rights’

The Biden White House is slamming Texas’ recently-passed “heartbeat bill” as an “assault on women’s fundamental rights.”

At the White House press briefing Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the bill signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Wednesday.

The legislation, slated to go into effect on Sept. 1, bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, usually around six weeks of gestation.

“This is the most restrictive measure yet in the nation and the most restrictive recent assault on women’s fundamental rights under Roe v. Wade,” Psaki replied. She lamented that “critical rights continue to come under withering and extreme attack around the country.”

According to Psaki, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are “devoted to ensuring that every American has access to healthcare.”

“Now more than ever, he continues to support the robust agenda he put forward during the campaign to protect women’s fundamental rights, including by codifying Roe v. Wade,” she said. “Obviously, there are some actions that will be through legal processes and through the courts.”

“Those are decisions for the Department of Justice and others to make,” she added, “but certainly the President supports and believes we should codify Roe v. Wade. And that is his view, regardless of these backward-looking steps that are being taken … by states in the country.

As Psaki suggested, 2021 has seen the passage of many pro-life laws at the state level.

A report from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, released on Apr. 30, found that in the first four months of 2021, more than 500 pro-life bills were introduced in state legislatures nationwide. More than 60 of those bills have become law in 14 state.