PanamaTimes

Friday, Feb 27, 2026

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

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
President Trump warns countries against abandoning recent trade deals with the US
Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing showcases future robot deployment during Spring Festival Gala.
Cuba adopts electric tricycles for transport amid fuel shortages
Cuba's fuel crisis leads to mounting waste in Havana
Eighty-Year-Old Lottery Winner Sentenced to 16.5 Years for Drug Trafficking
UK Green Party Considering Proposal to Legalize Heroin for an Inclusive Society
Investigation Launched at Winter Olympics Over Ski Jumpers Injecting Hyaluronic Acid
Wall Street Erases All Gains of 2026; Bitcoin Plummets 14% to $63,000
Cuba Warns It Has Only Weeks of Oil Remaining as US Pressure Tightens
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
America’s Venezuela Oil Grip Meets China’s Demand: Market Power, Legal Shockwaves, and the New Rules of Energy Leverage
There is no sovereign immunity for poisoning millions with drugs.
President Trump Says United States Will Administer Venezuela Until a Secure Leadership Transition
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
The Pilot Barricaded Himself in the Cockpit and Refused to Take Off: "We Are Not Leaving Until I Receive My Salary"
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Issues Alert Declaring Venezuelan Airspace a Hazard Due to Escalating Security Conditions
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
Nancy Pelosi Finally Announces She Will Not Seek Re-Election, Signalling End of Long Congressional Career
Erling Haaland’s Remarkable Run: 13 Premier League Goals in 10 Matches and Eyes on History
White House Refutes Reports That US Targeting Military Sites in Venezuela
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Trump Accuses Colombia’s President of Drug-Leadership and Announces End to US Aid
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
FBI Strikes Deep in Maduro’s Financial Web with Bold Money-Laundering Indictments
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
New World Screwworm Creeps Within Seventy Miles of U.S. Border, Threatening Cattle Sector
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Trump Orders Third Lethal Strike on Drug-Trafficking Vessel as U.S. Expands Maritime Counter-Narcotics Operations
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
In a highly politically motivated trial, Brazil’s Supreme Court finds former leader Bolsonaro guilty of plotting coup
×