(PM.) In Wednesday’s White House press conference, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called out the Supreme Court’s June overturning of Roe v Wade as “unconstitutional,” and declared that an executive order signed by President Biden shortly after would not violate the Hyde amendment.
“From day one, when the Supreme Court made this extreme decision to take away a constitutional right, it was an unconstitutional action by them, a right that was around for almost 50 years, a right that women had to make a decision on their bodies and how they want to start their families…” Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday.
In a separate question, one reporter pressed Jean-Pierre on how using Medicaid to fund travel expenses to obtain an abortion would not violate the Hyde amendment.
Jean-Pierre assured that the executive order would not violate Hyde, and that “we follow the law here.”
On Wednesday morning, it was announced that Biden would, later that day, be signing an executive order that would defend “the bedrock right to travel across state lines to seek reproductive healthcare in states where those services remain legal,” according to a White House fact sheet.
Speaking with ABC News, a senior Biden administration official said that this new executive order will allow for the Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra to “invite states to apply for Medicaid waivers, so that states where abortion is legal could provide services to people traveling from a state where abortion may be illegal to seek services in their state.
Jean-Pierre is asked how having Medicaid fund travel expenses for women seeking abortions doesn’t violate Hyde:
“We follow the law here.” pic.twitter.com/iOCQvE4Ab1
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) August 3, 2022
