Exclusive: Biden to meet with governors on abortion rights

After President Biden leaves Europe, the White House will announce he'll meet Friday with governors whose states moved swiftly to protect women's access to abortion following the court ruling.

Why it Matters: Access to abortion is still guaranteed in 16 states after the Supreme Court issued a ruling overturning Roe v. Wade last week, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez reports.

• Earlier this week, the Biden administration announced a plan to counter the ruling. It aims to "increase access" to FDA-approved abortion pills, among other steps.

State of Play: Conservative lawmakers have passed restrictive laws to ban abortion in their states, while lawmakers in blue states responded by approving measures to safeguard providers and patients who may become targets in Roe's absence.

• Some are advancing legislation to expand abortion access to prepare for an anticipated influx of out-of-state patients who are seeking care.
• California and Vermont are going even further by making abortion access a constitutional right.
• In Alaska, Florida, Kansas, Montana and New Mexico, abortion access is protected by state Supreme Court precedent, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. But those precedents may be in peril, too.

The big picture: Roughly six in 10 U.S. adults (61%) believe abortion should be legal in "all or most cases," according to a recent survey from the Pew Research Center.

What they're saying: After the Supreme Court overturned the landmark decision last week, Biden sharply criticized the ruling and called on voters to respond at the polls, saying "Roe is on the ballot" in November.

• "Personal freedoms are on the ballot," Biden said in the aftermath. "The right to privacy, liberty, equality, they're all on the ballot."

Go deeper ... The latest on Roe v. Wade and abortion