President Joe Biden responded on Tuesday morning to a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting it will overturn Roe. v. Wade, saying abortion is a woman's right and that it's ultimately up to voters to elect officials in favor of abortion rights.
"First, my administration argued strongly before the Court in defense of Roe v. Wade," Biden said. "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.'"
He added, "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."
He did, caution, though, "We do not know whether this draft is genuine, or whether it reflects the final decision of the Court."
Biden said if the landmark 1973 case is overturned, it will be up to lawmakers and ultimately, voters, to maintain abortion rights.
"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," Biden said. "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."
The court is expected to rule on the case before its term ends in late June or early July.
The draft opinion in effect states there is no constitutional right to abortion services and would allow individual states to more heavily regulate or outright ban the procedure.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” it states, referencing the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey that affirmed Roe’s finding of a constitutional right to abortion services but allowed states to place some constraints on the practice. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
A Supreme Court spokeswoman said the court had no comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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