Abortion Rights Will (Finally) Be Part of the Conversation at Thursday’s State of the Union Address

It’s been a difficult few years for reproductive rights in the United States, between the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022 and the ensuing slew of state abortion bans that have dangerously restricted abortion access around much of the country (and particularly in the South). Some reproductive health care activists have criticized the Biden administration, and President Joe Biden in particular, for not centering the issue of abortion enough in his reelection campaign, and indeed his recent comments about not wanting “abortion on demand” at a recent fundraiser were a not-entirely-welcome reminder of his inability to codify Roe v. Wade into law before it fell.

Possibly in response to all this, though, the upcoming State of the Union address that Biden is scheduled to deliver on Thursday, March 7, is already shaping up to focus on abortion rights. Below, find everything we know so far about the role of reproductive rights at the SOTU.

The recent Alabama IVF ruling will be referenced

Democrats, including Tim Kaine, Tammy Duckworth, and Lori Trahan, are planning to bring fertility doctors and patients to the State of the Union on Thursday in an attempt to call attention to the Alabama Supreme Court’s recent ruling that IVF embryos should be considered children and highlight the effect that the fall of Roe has had on fertility care. Kaine is said to be bringing Elizabeth Carr, the first person in the US to be born via in vitro fertilization, as his guest.

Kate Cox, the Dallas woman who had to leave Texas to terminate her nonviable pregnancy, will be in attendance

First lady Jill Biden personally invited Cox, whose story illuminates the human cost of restrictive abortion bans in Texas. “Her story is incredibly powerful, devastating,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press briefing in January. “It speaks to the moment that we are in now, when we talk about women having the right to make these deeply personal decisions about their health care that was taken away by the Supreme Court.”

An embattled Indiana abortion provider will be present as well

The risk currently being faced by doctors who perform abortions is unfortunately very real, and California congresswoman Judy Chu is spotlighting that reality by bringing Indianapolis-based ob-gyn Caitlin Bernard—one of the last providers working in the state—to the State of the Union address as her guest. Bernard faced harassment and scrutiny after it was initially reported that she had provided medical and reproductive care for a 10-year-old child-abuse victim from Ohio shortly after Roe fell.