Here's What Joe Biden Has To Say About The SCOTUS Leak
In a monumental turn of events, on the night of May 2, 2022, Politico shared a leaked brief from the Supreme Court of the United States, weighing in on their potential decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. According to the leaked majority opinion draft, the SCOTUS plans to overturn the 1973 court decision, which would result in the loss of the right to choose how to deal with a pregnancy for millions across the country. According to CNN, 13 different states, most notably including Texas and Florida, already have "trigger laws" put in place to ban abortion altogether. If Roe v. Wade is to officially be struck down, those states would immediately put those bans into place.
According to the leaked document, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote, "We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. It is time to heed the constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives." In mentioning to "Casey," Alito refers to a 1992 court decision that largely upheld abortion rights (per the Legal Information Institute at Cornell). Once Politico's leak made its way across the internet, millions of people — from politicians to celebrities — began to weigh in on the highly debated topic – including President Joe Biden.
President Biden shared his statement about the leak on Twitter
On the morning of May 3, 2022, the day after the Politico leak, President Joe Biden took to Twitter with an official statement on his POTUS account. In his statement, Biden said, "I believe that a woman's right to choose is fundamental, Roe has been the law of the land for almost 50 years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned." While also mentioning that the draft has not been confirmed to be "genuine," the president also pointed to his administration's commitment to upholding reproductive rights, and expressed that "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."
Per The Washington Post, Biden also exclaimed that it would be a "radical decision" if the court were to strike Roe down. This was certainly not the first time the POTUS has spoken on this particular issue. Per The New York Times, in September 2021, Biden criticized the SCOTUS' choice not to block the recent Texas six-week abortion ban, saying that it "unleashes unconstitutional chaos" and, according to the outlet, promised that his administration would take the necessary action to try and prevent further infringement on those constitutional reproductive rights. While the world waits breathlessly to learn what will happen next in this major decision process, Biden's administration seems to be ready to respond.