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US President Joe Biden called the Supreme Court decision to overturn the right to abortion an exercise in "raw political power," and signed an executive order on Friday to make abortion services more accessible.

After the landmark judgment last month to overturn Roe v Wade, which disrupted roughly 50 years of defences for women"s reproductive rights, Biden, a Democrat, has been under stress from his own party to act.

The order instructs the government"s health department to increase access to "medication abortion" - pills stipulated to end pregnancies - as well as to confirm women have access to emergency healthcare, family planning services, and contraception. It also mentions doctors, women travelling for abortions, and mobile abortion clinics at state lines.

However, it provided few specific details and promises to have minimal effect in practise because states in the United States can pass laws limiting abortion and medication access.

"What we"re witnessing is an exercise in raw political power, not a constitutional judgement," Biden told reporters at the White House. "We cannot allow an out-of-control Supreme Court to take away our freedoms and personal autonomy in collaboration with extremist elements of the Republican Establishment."

The White House has made no public mention of reforming the court or broadening the nine-member panel.

Instead, Biden outlined how voters could codify abortion rights into law if they elected "two additional pro-choice senators and a pro-choice House," and he urged women to vote in record numbers. He stated that he would veto any Republican-passed legislation that would outlaw abortion rights nationwide.

When asked what the order would change for women, Jen Klein, director of the president"s Gender Policy Council at the White House, did not provide any specifics.

"You can"t undo what the Supreme Court has completed with executive action," she said.
THE FIRST STEPS"

Nonetheless, progressive legislators and abortion rights advocates applauded the directive. Senator Elizabeth Warren called it "important first steps" and urged the administration to look into every option available to protect abortion rights.

The issue may motivate Democrats to vote in the November midterm elections, when Republican politicians have a chance to take control of Congress.

According to Reuters polling, protecting abortion rights is a top priority for women Democrats, and more than 70% of Americans believe the decision must be left to a woman and her doctor.

Following Biden"s remarks, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said, "Democrats are out of touch with the American people."

In June, Biden suggested that U.S. senators remove a legislative stumbling block by intermittently lifting the Senate "filibuster" in order to restore abortion rights, but the proposal was rejected by aides to key Democratic senators.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the White House was unwilling to take the bold steps on abortion access advocated by Democratic lawmakers, such as court transformation or offering procreative services on federal lands.

The Supreme Court"s decision restored states" right to prohibit abortion. As a result, women with unwanted pregnancies must choose between travelling to another state where the procedure is still legal and accessible, purchasing abortion pills digitally, or having a potentially hazardous illegal abortion.