President Joe Biden on Tuesday called “radical” a draft Supreme Court decision overturning Rowe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 decision that protected the right to abortion.
“I am very worried that in 50 years we will decide that a woman has no choice,” Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One for a trip to Alabama.
The decision, he said, would call into question “a range of rights” that are based on the presumption of privacy, including access to contraception and same-sex marriage.
“This is a fundamental shift in American jurisprudence,” Biden said.
Biden said he wanted Congress to pass a law codifying Rowe v. Wade, but he was not prepared to say whether the Senate should circumvent the scourge.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF ABORTION:
– The chairman of the Supreme Court begins an investigation into the leak
– President Biden calls on the Supreme Court to reconsider
– Several state bans on abortion will be included if Rowe v. Wade is lifted
– The leak of the draft opinion came as a shock to the Supreme Court observers
– News of the draft conclusion responded in Michigan, where a ban on abortion in Rowe
Find all AP stories about abortion: https://apnews.com/hub/abortion
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft opinion, which suggests that the Supreme Court may be ready to overturn the landmark Rowe v. Wade case in 1973, which legalized abortion across the country.
Roberts also ordered an investigation into what he called “blatant abuse of trust.”
In the Supreme Court’s first public comment after the draft was released late Monday, Roberts said: “Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is valid, it does not constitute a court decision or a final position of any member on matters in the case.” .
“As this betrayal of the Court’s trust was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed,” he said in a written statement.
He added: “I have ordered the court marshal to begin an investigation into the source of the leak.”
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Health Xavier Besser said Tuesday that women should be able to make their own decisions about their bodies.
“It’s their right,” Beserra said in a statement.
As head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Besser repealed rules passed during President Donald Trump’s administration that barred federal-funded family planning clinics from sending women to abortion.
Besera noted that abortion remains a legal medical procedure and is therefore a health care service.
“I firmly believe in protecting and promoting access to health care, and that includes safe and legal abortion,” he said.
By law, federal funds cannot be used to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or saving a woman’s life.
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If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark Rowe v. Wade case in 1973, which legalized abortion nationwide, it will immediately divide the country into states that have access to abortion and those that outlaw it.
Some states were already preparing for the Supreme Court to weaken or overturn Rowe, but a grand leak of Tuesday’s draft seemed to speed things up, directing the country into an even more chaotic landscape of abortion rights before the court actually rules.
Almost immediately after Politico released the bill on Monday night, Republicans, who for decades had helped end abortion rights, cheered the prospect, and Democrats vowed to fight a possible repeal of constitutional law that had been in effect for nearly half a century.
In California, Democrats, who control the state legislature and the governor’s office, issued a joint statement Monday announcing they would seek to amend the state’s constitution to secure abortion rights.
About half of U.S. states are expected to ban abortion if Rowe falls, according to the Gutmacher Institute’s abortion rights think tank. Twenty-two states, mostly in the South and Midwest, already have a complete or near-complete ban on books. Except for Texas, everyone is now locked in court because of Rowe.
Thirteen states have so-called laws that ban abortions immediately if Rowe is canceled and are expected to take effect if a majority in the Supreme Court votes in favor of the bill in late June or early July.
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WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden says “the fundamental justice and stability of our legislation requires” that the U.S. Supreme Court not overturn the landmark Rowe v. Wade case in 1973, which legalized abortion across the country.
In a statement Tuesday, Biden said he would work to codify the right to abortion into federal law. Politico has issued a draft opinion suggesting that the court may be willing to overturn Rowe’s landmark 1973 case against Wade.
The decision to repeal Roe will lead to a ban on abortion in about half of the states and could have huge implications for this year’s election.
It is unclear whether the draft is the final word of the court on this issue – opinions often change during the development process.
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The Supreme Court is known for keeping secrets. Year after year, in a big case after a big case, little goes beyond what judges say during oral debates, indicating how they will rule.
That’s what makes the leak of an obvious draft opinion on a major abortion case a shock to judicial observers.
The draft, published by Politico, says most courts are ready to overturn the landmark 1973 ruling in Rowe v. Wade, which legalized abortion across the country.
The leaks have been there before, but not on such a scale. Only a few people have access to solutions before their publication.
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News that the U.S. Supreme Court is ready to overturn Rowe’s landmark decision against Wade is reflected in the field of political battle in Michigan.
The state has a ban on abortion before Rowe, which could take effect and is unlikely to be changed by a Republican-led legislature.
Attention quickly turned to the courts, where Democratic Gov. Whitmer and Planned Parenthood filed lawsuits demanding that the 1931 law be invalidated.
Development will also focus on the November election, when the governor and lawmakers are re-elected and voters can decide whether to enshrine the right to abortion in the Michigan Constitution.
Live Updates | Biden calls abortion lawsuit “radical” :: WRAL.com
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