Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Challenges Biden To Act On Abortion Rights

In the days after the release of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) has stepped forward as one of the most vocal prominent Democrats making substantive proposals on what can be done soon to protect abortion rights that were stripped from millions of Americans.

She laid out a solid set of ideas in an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show. AOC began by talking about how past presidents like Abraham Lincoln and FDR ignored overreaching Supreme Courts to enact the Emancipation Proclamation and New Deals respectively.

Ocasio-Cortez first recommended that President Joe Biden “should entertain expansion of the Supreme Court,” and more passionately advocated that he should “forcefully come out in ending the filibuster of the United States Senate.”

If the filibuster were ended or even modified to a “talking filibuster” as some have recommended, AOC said that would empower Congress to codify Roe v. Wade, same-sex marriage, and other decisions now threatened to be repealed.

Actions @AOC recommends Congress and Pres. Biden take:

– entertain expansion of SCOTUS
– end the Senate filibuster
– repeal the Hyde Amendment
– codify Roe, same-sex marriage, right to contraception, and interracial marriage pic.twitter.com/Q37pYNcYhA

— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) June 29, 2022

His administration has taken action by directing government agencies “to ensure that medications like contraception and mifepristone are available to the fullest extent possible.”

Today, I’m directing the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that medications like contraception and mifepristone are available to the fullest extent possible.

— President Biden (@POTUS) June 24, 2022