Two weeks after the end of Roe v Wade, Joe Biden signed an executive order designed to safeguard access to reproductive healthcare services.

The order, which came at a time when numerous states had already banned or heavily restricted abortion, directed the US’ Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra to take or consider a number of actions related to reproductive health. Those included protecting access to abortion and contraception, and gathering a team of volunteer lawyers to represent those affected by the bans being put in place.

Announcing the order, Biden said the Supreme Court’s ruling was “extreme” and “totally wrong-headed,” describing the decision as “an exercise in raw political power” as opposed to constitutional judgement.

Roe v Wade overturned: how do abortion rights currently stand across the US?