On an extended version of Jose Diaz-Balart Reports on MSNBC, the eponymous host welcomed Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and demanded to know not once, not twice, but three times, what the administration is doing to protect abortion.
Diaz-Balart’s abortion promotion began with the softest of softballs, “Secretary, give us more information about the steps that the federal government is taking now.”
Becerra began by blasting the “despicable” Dobbs ruling, but tried to assuage MSNBC’s fears, “[Dobbs] just makes it much more difficult in certain places and what we're going to do is make sure we use every leverage and authority we have to try to help every woman in America access the health care, including abortion care that they might need.”
Perhaps unsatisfied with the lack of specifics, Diaz-Balart asked for a second time, “Now, you know, even with the steps you laid out yesterday, you said we're keeping every option on the table. What other steps are you looking at possibly taking that you have not already announced.”
This time Becerra acknowledged the existence of birth control, but also “Medication abortion, still available in many different ways. It might be more difficult for some women, but medication abortion is there.”
Becerra proceeded to almost repeated the “HHS unveils plan to protect women’s reproductive rights,” chyron verbatim when he added “we will explore everything we can do and working with Department of Justice, we'll make sure we're trying to protect the rights of women to access reproductive health care services.”
For Diaz-Balart, this only raised more questions. For a third time he asked what the government would do promote abortions, “Secretary, I want to, kind of, hone in on what you said about boosting access to abortion medication. The federal government regulates medication, but you have a number of states trying to ban that. How can the federal government ensure access to this medication in places that maybe will have a state ban of that?”
This time Becerra replied by urging viewers to visit the government’s website on the matter and with that Diaz-Balart moved on to other topics. No questions about limitations or about the barbaric nature of the practice, just what are you doing to provide it.
This segment was sponsored by Colonial Penn.
Here is a transcript for the June 29 show:
Jose Diaz-Balart Reports
6/29/2022
11:27 AM ET
JOSE DIAZ-BALART: Secretary, give us more information about the steps that the federal government is taking now.
XAVIER BECERRA: So we're looking at everything we can do from the federal level. Once again, this decision by the Supreme Court, as despicable as it is, doesn't completely eliminate the opportunity for the woman to access the care that she needs. It just makes it much more difficult in certain places and what we're going to do is make sure we use every leverage and authority we have to try to help every woman in America access the health care, including abortion care that they might need. Might be more difficult. That doesn't mean they don't have options.
DIAZ-BALART: Now, you know, even with the steps you laid out yesterday, you said we're keeping every option on the table. What other steps are you looking at possibly taking that you have not already announced.
BECERRA: Well again, let's be clear. Contraception care is available. Birth control, if you want to get birth control, you should be able to do that. Medication abortion, still available in many different ways. It might be more difficult for some women, but medication abortion is there. If you have an emergency circumstance and you go to the emergency room, and it might involve the need for abortive care services, that's available to you under federal law. If you are a Medicaid recipient, if you are trying to make sure you access family planning services, you are still entitled to receive information, training, and so forth on family planning, and so there are things we can do.
We can protect, we can do everything to protect your privacy, your private health information so it's not shared unnecessarily. We will do everything we can to protect providers, doctors who are offering reproductive care services to—to-- women. And so we're going to continue to do what we can, we will explore everything we can do and working with Department of Justice, we'll make sure we're trying to protect the rights of women to access reproductive health care services.
DIAZ-BALART: Secretary, I want to, kind of, hone in on what you said about boosting access to abortion medication. The federal government regulates medication, but you have a number of states trying to ban that. How can the federal government ensure access to this medication in places that maybe will have a state ban of that?
BECERRA: Well Jose, that's why it's so important that people understand what the Dobbs decision does and doesn't do, because we don't want people to believe that certain rights that they have are no longer around. We want to make sure it's clear what Dobbs did, and what it didn't do because we don't want people to act in ways that, against their own health interest, if they don't have to. That’s why we want to get as much information out as possible. We have a website, reproductiverights.gov, if you’re not sure, please log on to the website to find out information, be directed to the right people, and get the right advice.
