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MADRID – President Joe Biden said Thursday that the Supreme Court’s decision ending a constitutional right to abortion is “destabilizing,” but he maintained the ruling does not affect U.S. standing on the world stage as he took credit for modernizing the transatlantic alliance to adapt to new threats from Russia and China.
Biden was speaking to reporters at the conclusion of a five-day foreign trip to huddle with NATO allies in Madrid and the leaders of the Group of Seven advanced democratic economies in the Bavarian Alps, which came as the nation was still grappling with the fallout from Friday’s Supreme Court decision.
“America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been,” Biden said. “But one thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of United States in overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy.”
He added: “I could understand why the American people are frustrated because of what the Supreme Court did.”
Biden said he would support changing the Senate filibuster rules, which require 60 votes to pass most legislation, to allow bringing a bill extending nationwide abortion protections to pass by simple majority, although Democrats don’t have sufficient votes in the Senate for that.
The three-day NATO summit included the Biden administration announcing plans to permanently bolster the U.S. military presence in Europe, an agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to pave the way for the accession of Nordic nations into NATO, and the alliance updating its strategic concept reflect that China’s “coercive policies” are a challenge the Western bloc’s interests.
“I think we can all agree that this has been a historic NATO Summit,” Biden said.
He noted the last time NATO updated what is essentially its mission statement was 12 years ago, when Russia was characterized as a partner, and the document didn’t even mention China. The new document hammered out at the summit changes that.
He noted the last time NATO updated what is essentially its mission statement was 12 years ago, when Russia was characterized as a partner, and the document didn’t even mention China. The new document hammered out at the summit changes that.
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