Biden Addresses Abortion Without Using the Word, Says Rights Under Attack

During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden called attention to the attacks on abortion rights.

Twitter: @POTUS

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, 1 March, US President Joe Biden called attention to the attacks on abortion rights, stating that they are "under attack as never before." However, he did not mention the word 'abortion' in his speech, several Twitter users pointed out.

"The constitutional right affirmed by Roe v. Wade – standing precedent for half a century – is under attack as never before," Biden said, referring to the 1973 Supreme Court case that guaranteed a person's right to get an abortion.

"If you want to go forward – not backwards – we must protect access to health care. Preserve a woman's right to choose and continue to advance maternal health care for all Americans."

Joe Biden, US President

'Why No Mention of the Word?'

Earlier this month, more than 120 abortion rights organisations in US had written to President Biden, appealing him to talk about the crisis of abortion care in his State of the Union address.

"Time for POTUS to say the word 'abortion'," many pointed out on social media after his address.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter Screengrab)

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter Screengrab)

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter Screengrab)

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter Screengrab)

Since becoming president, Biden has used the word twice and only in the written form, reported Huffpost.

The first instance was 224 days after he took his presidential oath, when the White House issued two written statements regarding Texas' six-week abortion ban.

The second was in a written statement commemorating Women's History Month, wherein he acknowledged that the right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade was under unprecedented attack.

(With inputs from TIME, Huffpost.)