Biden Pledges to Work to 'Codify' Abortion Rights Into Law Amid Roe v Wade Leak

On Monday, US media obtained a leaked Supreme Court draft majority opinion favouring an end to federal constitutional protections of abortion - guaranteed under the landmark Roe v Wade decision of 1973.

President Joe Biden has pledged to fight the social conservative justice-dominated Supreme Court if it moves forward with reported plans to overturn Roe v Wade.

"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 said in a prepared statement published by the White House Tuesday morning.

The president stressed the White House does not know at this stage "whether this draft is genuine, or whether it reflects the final decision of the Court".

Biden added that his administration has "argued strongly" in defence of the 1973 landmark ruling, interpreting it as an component of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and its concept of personal liberty.

"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", the president said.

Protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC on Monday night after media leaked a 67-page draft majority opinion penned by Justice Samuel Alito effectively scrapping federal abortion protections and granting authority on the matter back to states. Roe v Wade's supporters fear that the 1973 ruling may be scrapped amid conservative justices' 6-3 majority in the highest court in the land.

On Tuesday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed that the leaked abortion draft opinion was authentic, but said it was not the final decision of the court. Roberts ordered an investigation into the leak.

Texas lawmakers' move to ban abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy in April 2021 through the so-called "Heartbeat Act" has been copied by other Republican-leaning states, including Florida, Oklahoma, Arizona, Kentucky, and Idaho, which have passed similar bills in recent months.