Roe v. Wade live updates: Democrats seek contrast with Republicans on abortion – The Washington Post
Roe v. Wade live updates: Democrats seek contrast with Republicans on abortion The Washington Post
Welcome to Post Politics Now.
Today, the only public event on President Biden’s schedule is a Cinco de Mayo reception in the Rose Garden at the White House. But behind the scenes, Biden and fellow Democrats are far less celebratory as they scramble to respond to the expected demise of Roe v. Wade from both policy and political perspectives.
With the midterm elections approaching, Democrats see support of abortion rights as a central issue on which to draw contrasts with Republicans, whose reaction to their probable success on this issue has been noticeably muted to this point. One reason: Polls show a majority of Americans think Roe v. Wade should be upheld by a roughly 2-to-1 margin.
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Elizabeth Dwoskin: Facebook warns employees against using company channels to discuss abortion ruling — In a company memo this week, a senior Facebook executive steered employees away from discussing the Supreme Court leak on public company discussion channels, while the firm also began deleting some posts where employees had expressed concerns about the issue, according to a person familiar with the announcement and a copy of the memo obtained by The Post.In the memo, executive Naomi Gleit reminded colleagues of the company’s Respectful Communications Policy, which restricts how employees can discuss controversial topics, including abortion.She directed workers to use other channels besides company communications platforms to express their concerns and feelings. She said that employees were allowed to “participate in a listening session of up to 5 like-minded people to show solidarity” or to interact one-on-one.Gleit also noted that employees could still use public social media, such as Facebook and Instagram, to share their thoughts and connect with people. Facebook’s own chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, posted on Facebook that the leaked ruling represented a “scary day for women all across our country.”The policy against discussing abortion on company channels dates from at least 2020, when Facebook tightened restrictions on public conversations among its highly vocal employee base in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests that summer.
This just in: If abortion law changes, Justice Department will ‘address appropriate steps,’ Garland says
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department has “steadfastly been committed to defending the right to abortion.”
“If the law changes, we will address appropriate next steps at that time,” Garland said. “But what will not change is our commitment to defending the rights of women and all Americans.”
The leaked Supreme Court draft decision, Garland reminded reporters, is “not a final decision.”
Garland did not comment on the leak specifically, which he has been asked to investigate by several Republican lawmakers.
It was not immediately clear what steps the Justice Department could take to secure women’s access to abortions.
Last year, when the Texas law that virtually banned abortions after six weeks into a pregnancy was passed, Garland vowed that the Justice Department would “not tolerate violence against those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services.”
“The department will provide support from federal law enforcement when an abortion clinic or reproductive health center is under attack,” Garland said, per the New York Times.
Garland said that the department would do so under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, the 1994 law that guarantees access to clinics that offer reproductive health care, including abortion clinics.
But it was unclear what kind of enforcement the Justice Department would use to protect women seeking abortions. At the time, Garland said he had spoken with the FBI and U.S. attorneys offices around the nation to discuss “enforcement authorities.”
