While the United States is giving military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, the president reiterated American armed forces will not fight the Russians in Ukraine. The United States and its allies, however, “will defend every inch” of territory belonging to countries that are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) “with the full force of our collective power,” he said. Ukraine is not a member of NATO.
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“When the history of this era is written, Putin’s war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger,” Biden told the members of Congress and the American people.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California praised the speech on Twitter. The country and the world saw Biden’s determination “that Democracy will prevail over autocracy. America’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and to the Ukrainian people remains ironclad,” she said.
In commenting on a lengthy list of issues, the president once again affirmed his support for abortion rights. “[A]dvancing liberty and justice also requires protecting the rights of women,” he said. “The constitutional right affirmed by Roe v. Wade, standing precedent for half a century, is under attack as never before.”
The Supreme Court is expected to rule by this summer on a Mississippi law that prohibits abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation. Many pro-life and abortion-rights advocates think the justices are poised not only to uphold the ban but to overturn the Roe ruling and the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey opinion that affirmed that decision but permitted some state regulation of abortion. In briefs for the high court, Mississippi and many pro-life organizations, including the ERLC, asked the high court to reverse both the Roe and Casey opinions.
Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, said in a written statement after the speech Biden “is the most pro-abortion president in history. He has evolved into a virulent supporter of abortion on demand, solidified by his record number of pro-abortion executive orders, reversal of pro-life policies, and pro-abortion legislation sanctioned by the White House.”
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Biden urged Congress to send the Equality Act to his desk for signing. The legislation – which would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the classifications protected in federal civil rights law – would “ultimately steamroll the consciences of millions of Americans,” according to the ERLC. The House of Representatives passed the measure in 2021, but the Senate has not acted on it.
While acknowledging its strong disagreements with the president on some issues, the ERLC had encouraged Biden to use his State of the Union speech to point toward potential bipartisan agreement in three areas: Immigration reform; refugee resettlement; and countering China morally.
In his speech, the president called for securing America’s border and repairing the immigration system. He endorsed providing a path to citizenship for Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children but with no permanent legal status.
Near the end of the address, Biden proposed a “Unity Agenda for the Nation” he thinks can be accomplished: Defeat the opioid epidemic; support mental health, especially of children; help veterans; and put an end to cancer.
This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.
