President Biden declares 'war' on Republicans over abortion rights.

US President Joe Biden speaks at an event in Washington DC on June 23.

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision—overturning the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade—left the power to pass abortion laws to individual states. Several states have since taken strong steps to discourage women from having abortions.

"The bans in the states are just the beginning... Their (Republican) agenda is extreme, dangerous, and incompatible with the vast majority of Americans," US President Joe Biden said in a statement on June 24, marking the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling, according to AFP.

Pro- and anti-abortion groups in the US held competing events in Washington D.C. on June 24, and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about the health "crisis" related to reproductive rights in a speech in North Carolina.

Approximately 20 states, primarily in the South and Midwest of the United States, have banned abortion entirely or severely restricted access to it, while several other states, mainly in coastal regions, have taken action to protect women's right to abortion.

The closure of medical facilities providing abortion services in more than 10 states has forced tens of thousands of women to travel elsewhere to have the procedure done.

Biden, a Democrat, also warned that Republicans are working to enact a nationwide abortion ban.

"Republicans in Congress want to ban abortion nationwide, but go even further by preventing FDA-approved abortion pills from continuing to be marketed and making contraception more difficult," the U.S. President said, referring to the country's Food and Drug Administration.

With a divided Congress, Biden can't do much. However, he said he would push for federal protections.

"My administration will continue to defend access to reproductive healthcare and calls on Congress to reinstate the 'Roe v. Wade' case protections in federal law once and for all," he said.

Abortion rights became a key issue for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections and are likely to be just as important in the 2024 presidential race.

This issue has also been exploited in Republican campaigns. Candidates in the primary elections have tried to capitalize on former President Donald Trump's indecisive stance on abortion rights. Trump is currently leading in polls for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Speaking on June 23, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis praised the ban on abortions from six weeks of gestation that he signed into law in his state, while former Vice President Mike Pence urged all candidates to support a nationwide ban.

"That's the right thing to do—don't let anyone tell you it's not," DeSantis said, implicitly targeting Trump, who has criticized the Florida law as "too harsh."

On the same day, Biden received endorsements from leading abortion rights groups in the United States, including Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and Emily's List.

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