Biden Rallies Voters For Midterms In Response To Roe V. Wade Draft Opinion

President Joe Biden urged “voters to elect pro-choice officials” in the upcoming midterm elections in a statement issued Tuesday responding to an apparent draft opinion showing the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Politico reported Monday evening on an “initial draft majority opinion” written by Justice Samuel Alito. The apparent draft opinion indicates that as of now, the majority of justices could vote to overturn the 1973 landmark decision that deemed abortion is protected under the U.S. Constitution.

Biden began his lengthy statement responding to the news by highlighting the “critical caveat” that it remains unclear “whether this draft is genuine, or whether it reflects the final decision of the Court.”

He continued on to make “three points about the cases before the Supreme Court,” ending with a call to action for voters.

“Third, 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,” Biden said. “And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November. At the federal level, 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.”

Biden’s push to get voters to the polls for the midterms coincides with growing concern over how Democrats may fare come November. With the Senate currently split between the two parties and Democrats holding just a slight majority in the House, strategists and pollsters have expressed alarm over the impending elections, The New York Times reported in April.

These concerns have been compounded by Biden’s low approval ratings, CBS News reported in March. (RELATED: GOP Holds Generic Congressional Ballot Lead In NPR/Marist Poll For The First Time In Eight Years)

Biden statement on Roe v. Wade news: “We do not know whether this draft is genuine, or whether it reflects the final decision of the Court.”

Calls on voters to elect pro-choice officials so they can “adopt legislation that codifies Roe.” Vows to sign such legislation into law: pic.twitter.com/lFmToJ9h4c

— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) May 3, 2022

Biden highlighted the Texas Heartbeat Act in his statement as well — a law the Catholic and pro-choice president has been openly against in the past. This law means to ban most abortions following around six weeks of a pregnancy.

The president noted that following this law, he directed his administration “to prepare options for an Administration response to the continued attack on abortion and reproductive rights, under a variety of possible outcomes in the cases pending before the Supreme Court.”

“We will be ready when any ruling is issued,” the president vowed.

Biden also noted that his administration “argued strongly before the Court in defense of Roe v. Wade.”

“I believe that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental, Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned,” the president wrote.

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