Biden, Democrats Condemn ‘Radical’ Supreme Court Abortion Draft Opinion
Fallout in the nation's capital was swift to news that the Supreme Court is poised to strike down Roe v. Wade. Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the draft opinion and launched an investigation into how it was leaked. President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers blasted the majority decision, while Republicans' reaction was more muted. The future of legislative action is unclear though, especially with the upcoming midterm elections.
The New York Times:
Supreme Court Confirms Leak But Says Text Is Not Final
The Supreme Court on Tuesday confirmed that a leaked draft ruling to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision was authentic but not final, even as the disclosure triggered political upheaval with potentially broad electoral and legal consequences. While protesters gathered outside the court, chanting loudly enough for members of Congress to hear at the Capitol across the street, Democrats led by President Biden vowed to make abortion rights a defining issue of the fall midterm elections. Republicans accused liberals of orchestrating the leak to intimidate the court while Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. ordered an investigation. (Baker, 5/3)
Roll Call:
Senate Democrats Look To Write Abortion Rights Into Law, But May Lack Votes
Senate Democrats plan to try to pass a narrowly focused bill making abortion rights part of federal law even though they don't appear to have the votes to change the chamber’s rules to eliminate the filibuster threat. "It's a different world now. The tectonic plates of our politics on women's choice and on rights in general are changing," Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Tuesday. "Every senator now under the real glare of Roe v. Wade being repealed by the courts, is going to have to show which side they are on." (Lesniewski and Hellmann, 5/3)
The Hill:
GOP Avoids Promises In Cautious Response To Roe Thunderbolt
Republicans on Tuesday took a decidedly cautious stance in response to a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, a political thunderbolt that would realize longtime GOP ambitions but risks alienating voters before the midterm elections. Rather than promising to seek specific federal restrictions on abortion that could be newly legal with the end of Roe, Republicans largely pointed to states to take action, redirected attention to the leak itself, and accused Democrats of taking the extreme position. (Brooks, 5/3)
The New York Times:
Overnight, Midterms Get A White-Hot New Focus: Abortion
A leaked draft of a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade instantly propelled the debate over abortion into the white-hot center of American politics, emboldening Republicans across the country and leaving Democrats scrambling to jolt their voters into action six months before the midterm elections. Although the Supreme Court on Tuesday stressed that the draft opinion was not final, the prospect that the nation’s highest court was on the cusp of invalidating the constitutional right to abortion was a crowning moment for Republicans who are already enjoying momentum in the fight for control of Congress, statehouses and governor’s offices. Republican state leaders on Tuesday announced plans to further tighten restrictions on the procedure — or outlaw it outright — once the final ruling lands in the coming months. (Glueck and Epstein, 5/3)
AP:
Biden Blasts 'Radical' Roe Draft, Warns Other Rights At Risk
President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted a “radical” Supreme Court draft opinion that would throw out the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling t hat has stood for a half century. The court cautioned no final decision had been made, but Biden warned that other privacy rights including same-sex marriage and birth control are at risk if the justices follow through. Chief Justice John Roberts said he had ordered an investigation into what he called the “egregious breach of trust” in leaking the draft document, which was dated to February. Opinions often change in ways big and small in the drafting process, and a final ruling has not been expected until the end of the court’s term in late June or early July. (Miller and Gresko, 5/3)
Reuters:
In Supreme Court Shadow, Biden Urges Voters To Protect Abortion Rights
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday appealed to voters to protect abortion rights by backing candidates who support them in November's elections after a leaked Supreme Court draft showed it could soon overturn its 1973 decision legalizing abortion. Biden said his administration would respond once the Supreme Court formally rules but stopped short of calling for more radical changes - including a push to have the Senate change its rules to allow a simple majority to pass a law guaranteeing access to abortions. (Holland, Mason and Shalal, 5/4)
The 19th:
Kamala Harris Makes Forceful Defense Of Abortion Rights, Voting
Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday night urged Americans to stand up in the fight for abortion rights, delivering the Biden administration’s most forceful public statements since Politico published a leaked draft opinion that shows the majority of Supreme Court justices voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that guaranteed abortion access. “We have been on the front lines of this fight for many years, all of us in this together, and now we enter a new phase. There is nothing hypothetical about this moment,” Harris said at the annual gala for Emily’s List, which backs Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights. “Women’s issues are America’s issues, and democracies cannot be strong if the rights of women are under attack. So to all here I say, let us fight for our country and for the principles upon which it was founded, and let us fight with everything we have got.” (Kutz, 5/3)
KHN:
Historic ‘Breach’ Puts Abortion Rights Supporters And Opponents On Alert For Upcoming Earthquake
For an eventuality that’s been forecast and fought over for decades, no one truly has any idea what would happen if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. It was fairly clear when the court heard arguments in December over whether Mississippi could ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy that at least five justices supported upholding Mississippi’s law. It also seemed likely that they favored going significantly further to chip away at the right to abortion that women have been guaranteed since Roe was decided in 1973. (Rovner, 5/3)
The Washington Post:
The Supreme Court’s Draft Opinion On Overturning Roe V. Wade, Annotated
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of the draft opinion, which is written by Justice Samuel Alito, in Dobbs. v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. But he emphasized that it “does not represent a decision by the court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.” He said the court is investigating the extraordinary breach. That said, Politico reported that five justices — Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — have agreed to overturn the half-century-old precedent, and the draft opinion by Alito, one of the court’s two staunchest conservatives, could serve as a road map for how they would eventually do it. (Blake, 5/3)
