President Joe Biden says he now supports changing the U.S. Senate's filibuster rules to codify abortion rights into federal law.
Biden made the comments after a meeting with world leaders at a NATO summit in Spain.
"If the filibuster gets in the way, it's like voting rights, we should require an exception for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision," Biden said.
The Senate requires 60 votes for a bill to move forward. With a 50-50 split in the Senate, the filibuster has got in the way of some of Biden's agenda items. Until Thursday, he continued to support the rule.
However, Biden believes the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is a big enough deal to bypass the filibuster.
While Biden spoke about codifying Roe v. Wade, Biden said he's in favor of securing broader privacy rights, including the right for same-sex couples to marry.
The comment about privacy appears to be a direct response to Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion in the abortion ruling. He said the court should revisit privacy rights granted by the court, which include same-sex marriage, contraceptives and consensual sex.
Biden added he will be speaking with governors to address what other actions they would like the federal government to take.
