The US Senate will vote on legislation to codify the right to abortion into federal law, after a draft of a Supreme Court opinion showed that the .
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, spoke after Politico on Monday night published the draft opinion reflecting the court plans to strike down the landmark 1973 decision guaranteeing federal constitutional protections of abortion rights.
‘A vote on this legislation is not an abstract exercise, this is as urgent and real as it gets,’ Schumer said on the Senate floor on Tuesday morning.
‘We will vote to protect a woman’s right to choose and every American is going to see which side every senator stands.’
Schumer did not say when the Senate vote would take place.
The Supreme Court’s initial draft majority opinion could change before the final version due out by this summer.
A Senate vote would be symbolic, as Democrats hold the majority but only have half of the seats, far from the 60-vote supermajority needed to pass such a law.
Schumer again floated his accusation that conservative justices ‘lied’ to the Senate during their confirmation hearings about whether Roe v Wade was a settled precedent.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts later on Tuesday , and called it an ‘egregious breach of trust’.
‘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,’ Roberts wrote.
‘To the extent of this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way.’
Roberts added that he directed the Marshal of the Court to launch a probe into the source of the leak.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, denounced the leak. However, he did not comment on the contents of the draft decision.
Meanwhile, around the draft decision.
‘I believe that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental,’ Biden stated. ‘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.’
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