Why does Joe Biden not legalize abortion?
Kamala Harris is running for president, stating that she will support a bill to legalise abortion in the US and override the decision of the supreme court. But why, if the democrats with Joe Biden are in power now, don't they already do that?
6 replies
He isn't a king and that is not his responsibility in the American government. Creating and passing law is the job of Congress. The president only has the last say on whether it goes.
Democrats are not "in power." It's been a split government since the second Obama term. Democrats do not have a majority in both houses of Congress.
Even when the democrats do control both houses, as with the first Obama administration, they do not force the issues. They operate on a "we don't stoop to that level" policy which is why liberal voter get upset with them.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-rejects-democratic-bill-codify-abortion-rights-rcna17968
The president doesn't make or enact the laws. The president is not the big daddy (or mommy) CEO of America. As long as Rekucklicans are willing to get up and do a long talk -- spoilers, they always will be -- they can essentially force a bill into a 60 vote major to pass instead of a simple 50 (plus the VP) majority to pass.
Doesn't help that there's a senator whose dick is caught in mouse trap baited with a lump of coal.
Don't take this the wrong way. Whenever I see this question I assume the asker is ignorant or willfully obscuring the facts with a leading question.
I just don't have any idea how things work over there, and was genuinely wondering. Thanks for the explanation.
Fair enough.
This would require a new law to be passed and the Democrats do not control the House of Representatives. Even if Harris wins, they also have to win the House and Senat to actually make it legal. That btw is why Biden has not passed much good legislation in the past nearly two years.
All the people pointing out that Biden doesn't have the power to pass laws, only support or veto, are correct. One other aspect is that Biden is sort of a grudging supporter of abortion rights due to his traditional Catholic upbringing. One imagines Harris would be a more enthusiastic advocate