London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

US is now international ‘outlier’ – Biden

US is now international ‘outlier’ – Biden

President Joe Biden claimed on Friday that a Supreme Court ruling restricting abortion access has made the US “an outlier among developed nations.” However, while some states have pressed ahead with banning the procedure, others are writing laws in line with other wealthy nations, and Democratic-run states are pushing far more permissive policies than many European countries.
Biden addressed the nation after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade, a 1973 ruling that guaranteed the absolute right to a first-trimester abortion and limited rights in the second. Writing the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito argued that Roe v Wade rested on an “egregiously wrong” and “exceptionally weak” interpretation of the Constitution, and that by striking down this ruling, the court would “return the issue of abortion” to state legislatures.

“With this decision, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court shows how extreme it is, how far removed they are from the majority of this country,” Biden said at the White House. “They have made the United States an outlier among developed nations in the world. But this decision must not be the final word.”

Despite Biden’s proclamation, abortion access in the US is now more in line with the international norm than before, at least for the moment.

Prior to the court’s ruling, the US was one of only seven countries worldwide to permit unrestricted abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy, with the others Canada, China, the Netherlands, North Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam. Some Republican-controlled states have attempted to lower the cutoff to the point where a fetal heartbeat can be detected, typically between six and 15 weeks into a pregnancy.

Mississippi was one of these states, and the Supreme Court’s Frida ruling was made in a case evaluating the legality of its law banning abortion after 15 weeks.

Even with its 15-week cutoff point, Mississippi’s abortion law was more permissive than the policies of Austria, France, Spain, Ireland, Germany and Italy, all of which ban abortion after between 12 or 14 weeks.

However, Mississippi will soon ban almost all abortions. The state is one of 13 with a “trigger law” on its books. These provide for a near-total abortion ban to come into effect in the event of Roe v Wade being overturned, and following certification by state officials, abortion is expected to be banned except in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the mother’s life, in the coming two weeks.

Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming have all banned abortion in most cases since Friday’s ruling, or will do so in the coming days and weeks. Abortion law in these most restrictive states will then be in line with that of Poland.

In Arizona, Florida, and Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina, legislation will soon take effect banning elective abortions past a cutoff point between six and 15 weeks into pregnancy. Lawmakers in several other states, including Nebraska, Virginia and West Virginia, have promised to introduce similar European-style restrictions in the near future.

Access to abortion will remain unchanged in a number of mostly Democratic-run states, and will be expanded in others. California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a bill shielding out-of-state women seeking abortions in California from prosecution, and another bill that would enshrine abortion access in the state’s constitution is currently working its way through the State Assembly.

Alaska, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico and Vermont all allow elective abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Internationally, only Canada, China, North Korea and Vietnam allow this practice.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
×