US Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft opinion suggesting that the Supreme Court was planning to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalised abortion in the country. The draft was published in a Politico report that was released on Monday evening. Roberts has also ordered an investigation into the leak.

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“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 said in a statement.

“To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak,” the statement added. 

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Decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states in the US.

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the “basic fairness and the stability of our law demand” that the court not overturn Roe.

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“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,” he added.