“The right to abortion is on the ballot”

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, this Tuesday returned to speak of a crucial issue for the Democrats: the right to abortion.

Under renewed pressure from high inflation ahead of the congressional midterm elections, Biden made the big promise to immediately sign abortion rights into law in the United States, if Democrats hold the legislative majority: “And when Congress passes it, I will sign it in January, 50 years after Roe was first decided as the law of the land. And together we will restore the right to choose for every woman and every state in America. So vote, you have to go out and vote. We can do this if we vote.”

Looking at the most recent polls, Biden’s Democrats could lose control of the House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate as well, in the November election.

For this reason, the president tried to rally the party and its supporters around the right to abortion, which was severely restricted by the Supreme Court’s decision almost four months ago, leaving the issue up to each state.

So much so that Biden warned: “If the Republicans get their way, with a nationwide ban, it will matter where you live in America. So let me be very clear. If such a bill passed in the next few years, I would veto it.

It is not clear how politically effective the promise to prioritize abortion defense will be, because it would take 60 votes in the Senate to pass such a law.

And against the most positive forecast, with the Democrats maintaining control of both chambers, the Democrats still would not have enough votes.

Biden has voiced support for ending the 60-vote threshold to codify abortion rights, but Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona continue to oppose such an exclusion.

It was the first time Biden has prioritized abortion legislation before the November election, even though the issue has been central to Democrats’ messaging so far. Recent national polls show that Americans are most concerned about inflation, with only 8% believing abortion is a priority.