Millions of women across the US could soon lose their legal right to abortion, according to a leaked Supreme Court document.
The document, published by Politico, suggests the country’s top court is poised to overturn the 1973 decision that legalised abortion nationwide.
If the court strikes down the Roe v Wade ruling, individual states would be allowed to ban abortion if they wish.
It is expected abortion could then be banned in almost half of US states.
The Supreme Court’s justices are expected to issue a ruling in late June or early July.
Thirteen states have already passed so-called trigger laws that will automatically ban abortion if Roe is overruled this summer. A number of others would be likely to pass laws quickly.
Some 36 million women could then lose abortion access, according to research from Planned Parenthood, a healthcare organisation which provides abortions.
“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,” President Joe Biden said in a statement on Tuesday.
“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,” he said.
Anti-abortion groups such as the Susan B. Anthony List have welcomed the news. “If Roe is indeed overturned, our job will be to build consensus for the strongest protections possible for unborn children,” it said.
The leaked document – labelled “1st Draft” – appears to reflect the majority opinion of the court, and Politico reports that it was written by Justice Samuel Alito and circulated within the court on 10 February.
But it is unclear if it represents a final opinion, as justices have previously changed their views during the drafting process. The Supreme Court and the White House have not yet commented.
Its publication on Monday night sparked an immediate outcry from Democrats, as well as protests by both pro-choice and anti-abortion campaigners outside the court in Washington DC.
Leading Democratic politicians Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said jointly that if the report was accurate, the Supreme Court was “poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past 50 years.”
Source: BBC
