US President Joe Biden will sign an executive order today aimed at strengthening access to contraception, the White House said, a year after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion. 

Today’s executive order will give women with private health insurance under the government-subsidised Affordable Care Act access to all Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives, the White House said in a statement. 

Last year, the Supreme Court decided to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion and left it up to each state to decide. 

That same day, several conservative states moved to ban abortion, forcing clinics to hastily shut down or move to places where they could still operate. 

“In the last year, women have been denied essential medical care to preserve their health and even save their lives,” the White House said. 

“President Biden and Vice-President (Kamala) Harris stand with the majority of Americans who believe the right to choose is fundamental – and who have made their voices heard at every opportunity since the Supreme Court’s decision,” it said.

It is Biden’s first executive order aimed at protecting and expanding access to contraception. 

Around 20 states, mostly in the south and midwest, have prohibited abortion outright or severely restricted access, while others, mainly on the coasts, have moved to protect it. 

A study by the Society of Family Planning revealed the average number of monthly abortions nationwide between July 2022 and March 2023 was 79,031, 3.3% less than in April and May 2022, when an average of 81,730 abortions a month were performed. – AFP, June 23, 2023.