Biden will reportedly pledge to codify Roe v. Wade if Democrats hold Congress

President Biden is expected to commit Tuesday to codifying abortion rights if Democrats are able to hold onto their Congressional majorities in the upcoming midterms, a Democratic official told The New York Times.

The president will reportedly lay out what he believes is at stake in the midterms, and the Democratic official says Biden will paint the GOP as the party of a national abortion ban.

Biden will then reportedly pledge to make an abortion protection bill the first legislation he would send to Congress if both chambers remain under Democratic control. Currently, the Democrats have a lead in the House, and a slim majority protected by the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris in the Senate.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Biden's commitment comes as Democrats have been pushing abortion rights as a key issue, especially since the Supreme Court struck down the protections of Roe v. Wade this summer. As a result, the Times noted that abortion is now banned in 14 states, with a slew of others working to try and strip away rights.

"Right now, we're short a handful of votes," Biden said during a speech earlier this month. "The only way it's going to happen is if the American people make it happen."

However, despite Biden's insistence, it may be a moot point if Democrats relinquish control of Congress. While FiveThirtyEight has Democrats projected to keep the Senate, it's also forecasting a 72 percent chance of the GOP taking over the House.