WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden says the “basic fairness and the stability of our law demand” that the U.S. Supreme Court not overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide.
In a statement Tuesday, Biden said he would work to codify the right to abortion into federal law. Politico released a draft opinion that suggested the court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case.
A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states and could have huge ramifications for this year’s elections.
It’s unclear if the draft represents the court’s final word on the matter — opinions often change in the drafting process.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
— The leak of the draft opinion came as a shock to Supreme Court watchers
— News of the draft opinion reverberated in Michigan, which has a pre-Roe abortion ban
Follow all AP stories on abortion at https://apnews.com/hub/abortion
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
The Supreme Court is known for keeping secrets. Year after year, in major case after major case, there’s little beyond what the justices say during oral arguments that suggests how they will rule.
That’s what makes the leak of an apparent draft of an opinion in a major abortion case a shock to court watchers.
The draft published by Politico says that a majority of the court is prepared to overrule the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide.
There have been leaks before, but not of such magnitude. Only a handful of people have access to decisions before they’re published.
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News that the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision is reverberating in political battleground Michigan.
The state has a pre-Roe abortion ban that may take effect and is unlikely to be changed by the Republican-led Legislature.
Attention quickly is turning to the courts, where Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Planned Parenthood have filed lawsuits seeking to invalidate the 1931 law.
The development also is putting a focus on the November election, when the governor and legislators are up for reelection and voters may decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution.
