BIDEN BLASTS ‘RADICAL’ ROE DRAFT, WARNS OTHER RIGHTS AT RISK
President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted a "radical" draft Supreme Court opinion that would throw out the landmark Roe v Wade abortion rights ruling that has stood for a half century and warned that other rights including same-sex marriage and birth control are at risk if the court follows through. Across the nation, Americans grappled with what might come next.
The court confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft, which was dated to February, and Chief Justice John Roberts said he had ordered an investigation into what he called an "egregious breach of trust." A court statement emphasised that the draft is not the justices' final word.
Opinions often change in ways big and small in the drafting process, and a final ruling has not been expected until the end of the court's term in late June or early July.
A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states, spark new efforts in Democraticleaning states to protect access to abortion, and potentially reshape the contours of this year's hotly contested midterm elections.
The draft was published by
the news outlet Politico late Monday.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Biden said he hoped the draft wouldn't be finalized by justices, contending it reflects a "fundamental shift in American jurisprudence" that threatens "other basic rights" like access to birth control and marriage.
He added, "If this decision holds, it's really quite a radical decision."
He said the "basic fairness and the stability of our law demand" that the court not overturn Roe.
Earlier in the day, the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the move will inflict the greatest restriction of rights on Americans in the past 50 years.
Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a joint statement, have condemned the move by "Republican-appointed justices".