Biden Health Secretary admits the White House’s hands are tied in states that restrict abortion

The White House’s hands are tied when it comes to opening access to abortion in states that changed the medical procedure after the repeal of Roe v. Wade, Health Minister Xavier Becerra admitted on Sunday.

President Joe Biden and his administration have led Democrats across the country in outrage over the Supreme Court’s decision to scrap federal protections against abortion.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, another member of Biden’s cabinet, warned Sunday that rising tensions over the ruling have “increased the threat environment” surrounding the Supreme Court and its justices and their families.

It comes after his department sent out several warnings indicating an increased likelihood of violence from both the anti-abortion and pro-choice sides after Roe was ousted.

But there appears to be little the White House can do to mitigate the fallout, Becerra suggested in NBC News’ Meet The Press, as criticism mounts of the president’s party for not acting sooner to defend abortion rights to protect.

“If you look at our laws and the way we apply them, unless the Supreme Court speaks, unless we all say the Supreme Court word has no value, we have to heed the Supreme Court word more will have court. And we will,’ Becerra said.

“But we will continue to find every possible avenue to ensure women have access to the care they need, including abortion care.”

Health Secretary Xavier Becerra suggested the White House’s hands are tied when it comes to expanding access to abortion in states that have already banned it

It comes after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas echoed his department’s earlier warnings of an increased level of threats following the fall of Roe v. Wade has repeated through the Supreme Court

Asked if the White House would heed progressive calls to open abortion clinics on federal land in states where it is already banned, the health secretary suggested the idea has already been brushed aside.

“The difficulty is that having an idea does not mean that it can be put into practice. So we want to make sure we can put things into practice,” he said.

Becerra’s message to congressional Democrats, urging Biden to do more, was clear: “Give us some good ideas.”

“We will explore everything we can. And I would also ask them to please pass legislation,” said the former House Democrat from California.

“They have it within their power to find the voices to actually codify the Roe decision, which is what we need more than anything.”

In the meantime, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appears to be proactively monitoring potential threats arising from the Supreme Court’s late June decision.

Speaking to CBS News’ Face The Nation on Sunday, Mayorkas referred to a bulletin sent out by DHS in early June.

DHS issued an “elevated threat advisory” Tuesday, warning of an increased risk of “mass victim violence” nationwide fueled by extremist ideologies and personal beliefs.

Late last month, the Supreme Court immediately changed the landscape of women’s reproductive health when it overturned the constitutional right to abortion

The Bulletin cites “both pro- and anti-abortion advocates” who have publicly “encouraged violence, including against governments, religious and reproductive health workers and agencies, and those of opposing ideologies.”

Mayorkas said on Sunday: “We have seen an increased threat environment over the last few months in relation to a number of different volatile issues, shaking people up on different sides of each issue.”

He said his department “gets involved when there is a link between opposition to a particular view or ideology of hate, false narrative and violence”.

“We are acutely aware that the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Picking up and toppling Wade has really exacerbated the threat environment,” Mayorkas continued.

“We have allocated resources to ensure the safety of the Supreme Court and judges.”

This includes personnel deployed to ensure the safety of judges and their families.

“We do not condone violence, and law enforcement will and has responded to acts of violence when people do not honor their freedom to peacefully protest, instead violating the laws of our country and the states within it,” Mayorkas said.