President Joe Biden has released a statement in reaction to the leaked Supreme Court decision draft that could overrule Roe v. Wade.
Biden said that the “stability of our law” demands high court not overrule the decision and that he will work to codify abortion rights into law, The Associated Press reported.
Biden reminded that the leaked decision was a draft and may not be genuine or if it is the final court decision, CNN reported.
The president also stressed three points about cases that the Supreme Court is deciding, including that if Roe is overturned, then the voters will have to ensure that a woman’s right to choose is protected and head to the ballot box, CNN reported.
“First, my administration argued strongly before the Court in defense of Roe v. Wade. We said that Roe is based on ‘a long line of precedent recognizing ‘the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty’… against government interference with intensely personal decisions.’ I believe that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental, Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned.
“Second, shortly after the enactment of Texas law SB 8 and other laws restricting women’s reproductive rights, I directed my Gender Policy Council and White House Counsel’s Office to prepare options for an Administration response to the continued attack on abortion and reproductive rights, under a variety of possible outcomes in the cases pending before the Supreme Court. We will be ready when any ruling is issued.
“Third, if the Court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose. And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November. At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.”
Biden’s statement came a day after Politico published a draft opinion that suggested that the Supreme Court could overturn the landmark 1973 ruling, the AP reported.
In the draft, signed by Justice Samuel Alito, who is a member of the court’s conservative majority, wrote that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the AP reported.
It says that there is no constitutional right to abortion service and would give the states individual authority to regulate or ban the procedure.
The opinion is in reference to a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks. The case is Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The ruling is expected before the end of the Supreme Court’s term in either late June or early July.
