Biden leaned into reproductive freedom in his State of the Union speech — but he didn’t say the word 'abortion'
Calls to "Restore Roe" and protect reproductive rights were a cornerstone of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address Thursday night, but there's one thing the speech was missing: the word "abortion."
Calls to "Restore Roe" and protect reproductive rights were a cornerstone of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address Thursday night, but there's one thing the speech was missing: the word "abortion."
Groups like the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Reproductive Rights for All lauded Biden for highlighting reproductive rights and inviting Kate Cox, a Texas mom who was denied emergency abortion care and had to travel out of state to receive an abortion, to watch him speak.
But some supporters of abortion rights took issue with the fact that he didn't use the word "abortion" once, even though it was written in his prepared remarks for the evening.
"It was wonderful to see Kate Cox and her story be uplifted and, you know, condemn that she had to leave her state to get an abortion," Kellie Copeland, the executive director of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, told NBC News. "But then to not say the word? I think it implies that it's taboo, and it's not. It was the health care that she needed. And it's the health care that many women, trans and nonbinary people have every right to."
Jessica Mason Pieklo, the executive editor at Rewire News Group, a news organization focusing on reproductive health care, told NBC News that using the word "abortion" is important to help destigmatize the procedure.
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