President Joe Biden on Friday reacted to the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, accusing the right-wing justices of taking an “extremist and dangerous path,” and lamenting that “the health and life of women in this nation is now at risk.”
Biden also called the court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade a “tragic error.”
“This is an extreme and dangerous path the court is now taking us on,” Biden said of the court’s 6-3 decision, which effectively wipes out what had been a constitutional women’s right for more than a half a century.
“It’s a sad day for the court and for the country,” Biden said in remarks from Cross Hall at the White House. “The health and life of women in this nation is now at risk.”
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Biden said the court’s decision means a person who was the victim of rape and incest would not longer be able to get an abortion — unless a state law provides such an exception.
“So extreme that the woman could be punished for protecting their health. So extreme that women and girls are forced to bear their rapist’s child,” he said, pausing in an emotional moment. “Imagine, a young woman having to carry the child of incest, a consequence of incest, no option.”
And he warned that other rights could be at risk in the wake of the ruling.
“With this decision, a conservative majority of the Supreme Court shows how extreme it is. How far removed they are from the majority of this country,” he said in prepared remarks.
In his speech, Biden also called out former President Trump by name — something he rarely does — while noting that justices nominated by Democrat and Republican presidents have upheld Roe until now.
“It was three justices, named by one president, Donald Trump, who were the core of today’s decision to upend the scales of justice and eliminate a fundamental right for women in this country,” he said.
Watch the president’s remarks below:
