‘Despicable’: Biden HHS Chief Says Supreme Court ‘Unconscionably’ Put American Lives at Risk In Abortion Ruling

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra blasted the Supreme Court’s “despicable” decision last week that overturned Roe v. Wade and vowed to leave “no stone unturned” in making sure abortion is protected across the country — as instructed by President Joe Biden.

At Becerra’s presser on Tuesday, he outlined some of what Health and Human Services is doing to provide access to reproductive health care, but warned there is no “magic bullet” in responding to or fighting against the Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which he repeatedly described as unconscionable.

He opened his remarks with a direct attack on the conservative Supreme Court Justices.

“On Friday, June 24th, five Americans decided to use the vast power bestowed upon them by our democracy and our Constitution to unconscionably put at risk the life and health of millions of our fellow Americans,” said Becerra in reference to Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

“They chose to unconscionably limit Americans’ established freedom and autonomy to control their own body, decisions usually made in consultation with their doctor, not a politician,” he said. “And they chose to unconscionably strip away the fundamental health care protections that every American of childbearing age has known all their lives.”

Becerra indicated that the Department had been planning for such a decision and the consequences, and stated plainly that HHS will explore every option to circumvent or fight against what he described as a “crisis in health care.”

“Friday’s Supreme Court decision was despicable, but it was not unpredictable. HHS has been preparing for this for some time. That’s why earlier this year we launched our HHS Reproductive Access Task Force to plan for every action necessary to protect women’s access to reproductive health care,” he said. “There is no magic bullet. But if there is something we can do, we will find it and we will do it at HHS.”

“Indeed, that was the instruction I received from the President of the United States,” said Becerra.

After going into details on some of what HHS has done across the country, he concluded his remarks by again stressing his department’s objection to the Supreme Court’s ruling, which he called a “crisis.”

“This is a critical moment in our history. How we respond will speak to how we view the rights, the dignity, and the well-being of women everywhere. This is a moment of crisis in health care,” said Becerra. “At HHS, we will leave no stone unturned. All options are on the table. We will do everything within our legal limit of the law to reach patients and support providers.”

Watch the clip above, via the Department of Health and Human Services.

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