Xavier Becerra, secretary of Health and Human Services, speaks at an event. Photo: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told the New York Times the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was "embarrassing as an American."
Driving the news: Becerra had been visiting a Planned Parenthood location in Missouri when the ruling was overturned. Missouri's "trigger law" kicked in and abortion became illegal there.
What he said: "It’s kind of embarrassing as an American to say that I was about to leave a site where, from one moment to the next, women had lost their rights, and to go just across state lines where a woman in the same circumstances would still have that right," Becerra told the New York Times.
- Becerra told the Times he intends to make sure that medication abortion pills “are made available to Americans who need that particular prescription medication."
Zoom out: Multiple clinics that provide abortions closed down Friday in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling. This immediately restricted access to abortion care and services within parts of the Midwest and South.
- At least 32 abortion providers across Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana and Texas alone will be prohibited from offering the procedure moving forward, CNBC reports.
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