US Voters Must Defend Fundamental Abortion Rights: Joe Biden After Leaked SC Draft

President Joe Biden has reacted and said, "government must protect a woman's right to choose".

Pro-choice demonstrators hold signs in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington (Source: AFP)

New Delhi: Amid the leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision ruling legalising abortion, President Joe Biden on Tuesday said, "US voters must protect a woman's right to choose."

The president's statement began, "We do not know whether this draft is genuine, or whether it reflects the final decision of the Court. With that critical caveat, I want to be clear on three points about the cases before the Supreme Court."

"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."

My statement on the reported Supreme Court decision draft. pic.twitter.com/Kt3bP0kzqU

— President Biden (@POTUS) May 3, 2022

"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," Biden said. 

Biden's last point was an immediate enticement for American electors - - and maybe a hidden shot at moderate representatives like Joe Manchin, who cast a ballot alongside Republicans to obstruct Democrats' last endeavor to federalise abortion rights with the Women's Health Protection Act in March.

"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," Biden pressed.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International USA, which campaigns to end abuses of human rights has been posting hourly reminders, saying "This is your 10:00 a.m. reminder that abortion is a human right."

This is your 10:00 a.m. reminder that abortion is a human right.

— Amnesty International USA (@amnestyusa) May 3, 2022

This is the first time that a decision of the Supreme Court has been leaked to the media even before it is pronounced. As soon as this news came on the website of Politico, this news has spread in the media across the country. Politico has said in its report that which judge gave what decision, it is not yet known. The verdict is likely to be pronounced by the end of June. Meanwhile, there may be some variation in the language of the verdict.

The draft was written by Justice Samuel Alito and has been circulated inside the conservative-dominated court, AFP reported quoting the news outlet. A majority of the court voted to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade verdict, calling the right to abortion "egregiously wrong from the start".

In the Roe v Wade verdict, the US Supreme Court had held that access to abortion was a woman's constitutional right.

"We can't trust SCOTUS to protect the right to abortion, so we’ll do it ourselves," California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Twitter, referring to the Supreme Court.

Reuters was not promptly ready to affirm the validness of the draft assessment. The Supreme Court and the White House declined to remark.

"Do something, Democrats," abortion-rights protesters recited as they rallied outside the court in the pre-dawn hours against the choice, which would be a victory for Republicans who went through many years assembling the court's ongoing 6-3 conservative majority.

"If the report is accurate, the Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past fifty years – not just on women but on all Americans," Congress's top two Democrats -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer -- said in a joint statement. "The Republican-appointed Justices' reported votes to overturn Roe v. Wade would go down as an abomination, one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history."