Biden blasts Supreme Court’s abortion draft ruling

US president Joe Biden said a decision overturning Roe v Wade would raise the stakes for voters in November’s heated midterm elections (Susan Walsh/AP)

US president Joe Biden has blasted a “radical” draft Supreme Court opinion that would throw out the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade abortion rights ruling that has stood for half-a-century and warned that other rights, including same-sex marriage and birth control, were at risk if the court followed through.

The court confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft, which was dated to February, and Chief Justice John Roberts said he had ordered an investigation into what he called an “egregious breach of trust”. A court statement emphasised that the draft was not the justices’ final word.