US President Joe Biden has warned of grave consequences from the Supreme Court’s possible move to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established the legal right to abortion under the purview of a woman’s right to privacy.
In an interview with ABC News, Biden argued that overturning the ruling would be “ridiculous” and might motivate turnout in November’s elections.
“I don’t think the country will stand for it. If in fact the decision comes down the way it does, and these states impose the limitations they’re talking about, it’s going to cause a mini revolution and they’re going to vote these folks out of office,” POTUS asserted.
He added that he was looking at executive orders that he may pass if the precedent is overturned, but declined to elaborate on the matter.
Biden also called on voters to go to the polls during the midterms so Congress can codify abortion rights into law, saying, “You gotta vote to let people know exactly what the devil you think”.
Last month, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would codify the Roe v. Wade decision, amid reports that almost half of all 50 states are poised to ban or restrict abortion access in some way if the ruling is overturned.
In another development in May, US Supreme Court officials reportedly widened their search for the source of the leaked draft opinion that would reverse the Roe v. Wade decision.
This followed Politico citing a leaked draft majority opinion by US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito as saying that the court had favoured overturning its decision in the Roe v. Wade case.
The leaked document was confirmed to be authentic, but it does not represent the court's final decision in the case. SCOTUS said that they had launched an investigation into the unprecedented leak.