Biden blasts ‘radical’ draft, warns other rights threatened

President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted what he called a “radical” leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade case that legalised abortion nationwide, warning that a “whole range of rights” are in jeopardy if it holds. Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Biden said he hoped the draft wouldn’t be finalised by justices, contending it reflects a “fundamental shift in American jurisprudence” that threatens “other basic rights” like privacy and marriage.

He added: “If this decision holds, it’s really quite a radical decision.”

Earlier Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity

of the leaked draft and said he had ordered an investigation into

what he called an “egregious breach of trust.”

In the high court’s first public comment since the draft was published

late Monday, Roberts said “Although the document described in yesterday’s

reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court

or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.”

In a statement, he said, “To the extent this betrayal of the confidences

of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations,

it will not succeed.”