Biden Administration Considers Declaring a Public Health Emergency on Abortion

The Biden administration is considering the possibility of declaring a health emergency due to the lack of abortion access in some states.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra told Axios on Jan. 30 that there have been “discussions” about how best to protect abortion rights, including the possibility of an emergency declaration.

“There are certain criteria that you look for to be able to declare a public health emergency. That’s typically done by scientists and those that are professionals in those fields who will tell us whether we are in a state of emergency and based on that, I have the ability to make a declaration,” Becerra added.

The Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary went on to say that there has yet to be a “full assessment” of what such a declaration would look like and whether it is warranted, but his department is currently looking into the possibility.