President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday that aims to increase access to reproductive healthcare services as the legal landscape for abortions continues to shift in numerous states.
The executive order calls on federal regulators to make it easier for pregnant people to travel across state lines for an abortion, including through the Medicaid program.
"I am directing my Administration to take further action to protect access to reproductive healthcare services and to address the crisis facing women’s health and public health more broadly," Biden said in a statement.
The Supreme Court's decision to end the federal right to an abortion left the issue up to individual states. The result has been a patchwork of state regulations, with some cutting off access to abortion services.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice sued the state of Idaho over its abortion laws, alleging it prevents clinicians from providing necessary care in emergency situations as required by federal law.
Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said during a press conference that Idaho’s law places a chilling effect on providers and puts them in impossible situations.
The executive order comes on the heels of a Tuesday night electoral victory for abortion rights in Kansas. Voters there upheld abortion protections in the state constitution, rejecting a ballot initiative seeking an amendment, which advocates warned would led to a total abortion ban in the state.