US President Joe Biden says he opposes a Supreme Court move to overturn a historic law that legalised abortion, saying the right is “fundamental” for women.
In a draft ‘opinion’ document written by Justice Samuel Alito, the court says the landmark Roe v Wade decision in 1973 was “egregiously wrong from the start”.
It is unclear at this stage if the draft represents the court’s final word on the matter – and it has yet to issue an official ruling.
President Biden said he was ready to act if the court attempts to roll back abortion rights.
Mr Biden said: “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.”
He added that a decision overturning Roe would raise the stakes for voters in November’s heated midterm elections.
“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,” the president said.
