Attorney General Merrick Garland vowed in a statement released on Friday that President Biden’s Department of Justice would use “every tool at our disposal” to fight for abortion.
In a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court ruled Friday that the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision is no longer the law of the land, as abortion is not protected by the U.S. Constitution. As a result, the decision will now rest with each individual state — federalism at work. Three of the five justices who overturned the landmark decision were appointed by former President Donald Trump: Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett.
However, Biden’s DOJ “strongly disagrees” with the Court’s decision, according to Garland.
“The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the Court’s decision. This decision deals a devastating blow to reproductive freedom in the United States. It will have an immediate and irreversible impact on the lives of people across the country,” Garland wrote, asserting that it would most affect “people of color and those of limited financial means.”
“But today’s decision does not eliminate the ability of states to keep abortion legal within their borders. And the Constitution continues to restrict states’ authority to ban reproductive services provided outside their borders,” he said, explaining that the Justice Department recognizes that “traveling to obtain reproductive care may not be feasible in many circumstances.”
“The Justice Department will work tirelessly to protect and advance reproductive freedom,” he said, adding that the DOJ will “continue to protect healthcare providers and individuals seeking reproductive health services in states where those services remain legal.” He also said that the DOJ “strongly supports efforts by Congress to codify Americans’ reproductive rights, which it retains the authority to do.”
“We also support other legislative efforts to ensure access to comprehensive reproductive services,” he continued, later adding that the department “will use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom.”
“And we will not waver from this Department’s founding responsibility to protect the civil rights of all Americans,” Garland added.
Trump, meanwhile, celebrated the supreme Court’s decision, deeming it the “biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation.”
That decision, “along with other decisions that have been announced recently, were only made possible because I delivered everything as promised, including nominating and getting three highly respected and strong Constitutionalists confirmed to the United States Supreme Court,” Trump added: