NARAL Applauds President Biden's Historic Executive Action Establishing White House Gender Policy Council

WASHINGTON, March 9 -- NARAL Pro-Choice America issued the following statement:

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On International Women's Day, President Joe Biden signed an executive order formally establishing the White House Gender Policy Council within the Executive Office of the President.

NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue released the following statement in response on March 8, 2021:

"The Biden-Harris administration's actions today are a historic and important step toward ensuring that reproductive freedom is a reality for every body. The explicit and strong commitment that the White House Gender Policy Council will work to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights is a stark and welcome departure from the four-year-long war Trump waged on gender equity and reproductive freedom. This move sends a clear message that reproductive freedom is central to the pursuit of equity and justice. NARAL looks forward to continuing to work with the Biden-Harris administration to help it fulfill its promises to safeguard and advance reproductive freedom."

President Biden's executive action today established the historic White House Gender Policy Council, which will coordinate efforts to advance gender equity across the federal government with specific attention to increasing access to comprehensive healthcare, addressing health disparities, and promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights.

While the Biden-Harris administration's actions today undoubtedly advance reproductive freedom, it's critical that this administration builds on these efforts to prioritize protecting and expanding access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare--including abortion care--and uphold sexual and reproductive rights in the United States and around the world by:

* Ensuring that the president's budget advances reproductive freedom and excludes discriminatory restrictions on abortion coverage like the Hyde and Helms amendments and other attacks on reproductive freedom;

* Expanding access to reproductive healthcare by removing harmful and medically unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion care during COVID-19;

* Initiating a comprehensive FDA review of restrictions on medication abortion -- a safe, effective, FDA-approved option for ending an early pregnancy -- so that people's access to care reflects science, not politics;

* Rescinding Trump's other executive actions that limit access to care, including policies attempting to expand refusals of healthcare and attacks on contraception coverage;

* Nominating and appointing judges and executive branch officials with positive records on reproductive freedom, health, rights, and justice.