President Joe Biden has warned that a leaked draft supreme court ruling that threatens abortion rights in the US would represent a huge change in the law and could imperil a wide range of other civil rights.
In a historic moment that shook the US to the core and highlighted deep social and political divisions, the draft ruling overturned Roe v Wade, the 1973 case that guaranteed the right to abortion.
The court confirmed the draft was authentic but said it did not "represent a decision by the court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case".
Biden said the ruling, if handed down, would representa "fundamental shift in American jurisprudence” and could imperil rights including same-sex marriage and access to contraception.
Politico published the draft by justice Samuel Alito on Monday night. The website said the draft was supported by four other rightwingers on a panel conservatives control 6-3.
The chief justice, John Roberts, yesterday called the leak a “betrayal of the confidences of the court" and promised an investigation.
Speaking to reporters, Biden said the draft ruling had ramifications for "all the decisions you make in your private life, who you marry, whether or not you decide to conceive a child, whether or not you can have an abortion and a range of other decisions [including]how you raise your child”.
The draft ruling would allow states to declare abortion illegal.
Biden asked: “Does this mean that in Florida they can decide to pass a law saying that same-sex marriage is not permissible, [that] it's against the law in Florida? It's a fundamental shift in American jurisprudence.”
Protesters gathered outside the court and planned demonstrations around the country-both in support of and against abortion rights.
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