Joe Biden may not be doing much as president these days, given his current state of mind and obvious inability to function at a high cognitive level, but he still has an ability to outrage a sizeable portion of the country, if not most of it — as he did on Wednesday. President Joe Biden quietly awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Cecile Richards, a prominent abortion rights advocate and former president of Planned Parenthood, after an election in which the issue did not have any meaningful impact on the outcome.
According to The Hill, during a private ceremony, Biden said Richards has “led some of our Nation’s most important civil rights causes — to lift up the dignity of workers, defend and advance women’s reproductive rights and equality, and mobilize Americans to exercise their power to vote.” Richards stepped down from Planned Parenthood in 2018 after 12 years at the helm, during which she expanded affordable access to reproductive health care and played a pivotal role in positioning abortion rights as a central issue for the Democratic Party.
Following her departure, Richards co-founded Supermajority, a progressive organization advocating for gender equity, and currently serves as co-chair of the super PAC American Bridge 21st Century. In 2023, Richards was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive brain tumor. The average survival time for glioblastoma is only 12 to 18 months. That is the disease in which Biden’s son, Beau, succumbed in 2015.
The Medal of Freedom is given at the discretion of the president to a civilian who has made an “especially meritorious contribution” to the country, The Hill noted. “A leader of utmost character, she has carved an inspiring legacy that endures in her incredible family, the countless lives she has made better, and a nation seeking the light of equality, justice, and freedom,” Biden said of Richards.
Cecile Richards is the daughter of Democrat Ann Richards, the trailblazing first woman elected governor of Texas when her party wasn’t so outrageously far-left. Biden has previously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a range of notable figures, including civil rights icons, prominent political leaders such as former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) and Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), gymnast Simone Biles, and actor Michelle Yeoh.
The number of abortions in the United States has plunged since the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned the faulty 1973 Roe decision that created a “right” to abortion across the country. Under the new standard, set in the Dobbs case, states are allowed once again to set limits for the profitable industry of destroying the unborn. Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel, which has fought numerous court battles for the pro-life cause, said last year, “The news of fewer abortions nationwide is encouraging and it is evident that pro-life laws are saving unborn children and protecting women.”
“We are just now beginning to see the treasurable impact of the high court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade that will only continue to bear fruit. It is time for courts around the nation to follow suit and affirm everyone’s right to life whether born or unborn.” His organization cited documentation from the pro-abortion Society of Family Family, which confirmed there were 32,000 fewer abortions on average across the nation from July 2022 through December 2022. That report said there were about 5,377 fewer abortions monthly across the country than before the Dobbs case.
