Will red states arrest women who travel for abortions? Joe Biden thinks so

US President Joe Biden on Friday predicted that some states would attempt to arrest women trying to cross state lines to get abortions, a week after the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, overturned the landmark Roe v Wade decision that had granted constitutional protections for abortion.

In the aftermath of last week’s ruling, 13 Republican-led US states outlawed the procedure or placed severe restrictions on it under so-called ‘trigger-laws’, thereby making it necessary for women to cross state lines to get abortions in states where it is legal.

Biden, however, feels that travelling across state lines to get abortions will not be a straightforward affair.

Also read | How US primaries changed after Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade

The 79-year-old made his views on the matter clear in a virtual meeting on abortion rights with Democratic state governors on Friday, saying, “people are gonna be shocked when the first state … tries to arrest a woman for crossing a state line to get health services.”

“And I don’t think people believe that’s gonna happen. But it’s gonna happen, and it’s gonna telegraph to the whole country that this is a gigantic deal that goes beyond; I mean, it affects all your basic rights,” Biden added.

The president went on to assert that the federal government would do everything in its power to protect women crossing state lines to get an abortion, in addition to ensuring access to relevant medication in states where abortion is banned.

Also read | How Silicon Valley responded to Roe v Wade overturning

In the meeting, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham also assured that her state “will not cooperate” on attempts to track women who get abortions. “We will not extradite them,” Grisham added.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, meanwhile, told the group of Democratic leaders that “just a handful of states” would have to be responsible for women’s health across the country.

“There is such stress out there. It is a matter of life and death for American women,” said Hochul.