Good morning, Broadsheet readers! CVS Health is poised to expand, menopause awareness is bringing more business to the space, and President Joe Biden says there's more to accomplish on some key women and family issues. Have a great Wednesday.
- State of the union. During last night's State of the Union address, President Joe Biden often returned to a familiar refrain: "Let's finish the job."
The president, in the second SOTU of his term, outlined his accomplishments but emphasized that his administration has more work to do. He touted a record-low 3.4% unemployment rate, manufacturing job growth, and falling inflation before he called for more action on tax reform and climate change.
Much of the work Biden acknowledged is unfinished comes back to key issues for women and families: paid family leave, childcare, and reproductive rights. "Let’s also make sure working parents can afford to raise a family with sick days, paid family and medical leave, and affordable childcare that will enable millions more people to go to work," the president said. "By the way, when we do all of these things, we increase productivity. We increase economic growth."
The speech was the first State of the Union since the June reversal of Roe v. Wade, and Biden accordingly devoted a chunk of the speech to abortion rights:
Here in the people’s House, it’s our duty to protect all the people’s rights and freedoms. Congress must restore the right the Supreme Court took away last year and codify Roe v. Wade to protect every woman’s constitutional right to choose. The Vice President and I are doing everything we can to protect access to reproductive health care and safeguard patient privacy. But already, more than a dozen states are enforcing extreme abortion bans. Make no mistake; if Congress passes a national abortion ban, I will veto it.
He also addressed issues including protections for trans youth and police reform, following the January killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. Nichols' parents joined First Lady Jill Biden in the SOTU audience, and the president quoted RowVaughn Wells, Nichols' mother, in his speech. "Here’s what Tyre’s mom shared with me when I asked her how she finds the courage to carry on and speak out," he said. "With faith in God, she said her son 'was a beautiful soul and something good will come from this.'"
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered the GOP response to Biden's address. She characterized his remarks as part of a "left-wing culture war." Some argue that Republicans' choice of Sanders was meant to depict the GOP as part of a younger generation; at 40, Sanders is the nation's youngest governor and half Biden's age. Whether that contrast resonates with you will probably depend on your politics.
"I have never been more optimistic about the future of America," Biden said at the end of his address. "We just have to remember who we are."
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
The Broadsheet is Fortune's newsletter for and about the world's most powerful women. Today's edition was curated by Kinsey Crowley. Subscribe here.
