Leak reignites abortion row

US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the leak of a draft opinion by the court that would overturn a constitutional right to abortion in the United States.

Roberts confirmed that the 67-page draft published late on Monday by the news website Politico was authentic. But he said it wasn't necessarily the final resolution of the case.

As written, the draft would overturn the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision in the Roe v. Wade case. It would allow each state to decide whether to restrict or ban abortion.

No draft decision in the modern history of the court has been disclosed publicly while a case was still pending.

"This was a singular and egregious breach" of trust, 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. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way."

Following the publication of the Politico report, people on both sides of the issue gathered outside the court building, waving signs and chanting, and again on Tuesday as police in Washington, DC, prepared for large demonstrations.

Politico said it received a copy of the draft opinion from "a person familiar with the court's proceedings in the Mississippi case along with other details supporting the authenticity of the document".

In December, the nation's highest court heard oral arguments in the case challenging Roe, concerning Mississippi's ban on abortions after 15 weeks. All six conservative justices signaled that they would uphold the Mississippi law, and five asked questions that suggested that overruling Roe was a possibility.

Until now, the court has allowed states to regulate but not ban abortion before the point of fetal viability, at around 24 weeks. There has been a strong legislative push in several Republican-led states to restrict abortion.

If Roe is overturned by the court, several states have enacted laws that would immediately ban all or most abortions while others have passed laws that would restrict abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy.

Leaders in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California and several other Democrat-led states on Tuesday vowed that access to abortion would remain in their states.

The draft was written in February by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court's 6-3 conservative majority, and it declared that Roe was "egregiously wrong and deeply damaging", Politico reported.

The leaked draft prompted calls by some conservatives for the court to soon issue its formal ruling before the justices' opinions could change. Major decisions typically are released before the court's term ends in late June or early July.

Midterm elections impact

A White House adviser said a Roe reversal would serve as a galvanizing force for key segments of US President Joe Biden's coalition, giving Democrats a clear message to link to the midterm congressional elections. At the same time, the adviser, who requested anonymity to discuss internal strategies, acknowledged that an abortion change might not be enough on its own to overcome political headwinds come November.

Biden's popularity remains weak amid increasing concerns about inflation and the direction of the country. History also suggests that the party that controls the White House almost always suffers losses in the first congressional elections of a new presidency.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called for a criminal investigation and criminal charges against whoever leaked the draft. Other Republican leaders condemned the leak while voicing support for overturning Roe, and some said the leak was evidence of hostility toward conservative views.

"The left continues its assault on the Supreme Court with an unprecedented breach of confidentiality, clearly meant to intimidate," Missouri Senator Josh Hawley tweeted.

Biden told reporters on Air Force One that he hoped the draft wouldn't be finalized by justices because it reflects a "fundamental shift in American jurisprudence "that threatens "other basic rights "like access to birth control and marriage freedom.

Agencies contributed to this story.