- US dockworkers launch mass strike month before election
- Evacuations from Lebanon: what we know
- Feathers fly at Chanel's Paris fashion return
- UAE oil giant ADNOC swoops on German chemicals firm Covestro
- Eurozone inflation falls under 2% for first time since 2021
- Coldplay ticket scalping fiasco sparks backlash in India
- Droughts drive Spanish boom in pistachio farming
- Tokyo recovers some losses to lead Asian markets higher
- Rural schools empty in North Macedonia due to exodus
- US dockworkers launch strike after labor contract expires
- Thousands evacuated as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan
- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
Supreme Court leak ignites US abortion firestorm
President Joe Biden urged voters Tuesday to defend their "fundamental" rights after a leaked Supreme Court draft on ending nationwide legal abortion sparked a political firestorm around one of America's most divisive ethical issues.
If confirmed by the court, the ruling would categorically overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, which enshrined abortion rights across the country -- ensuring the hot-button question will dominate the November midterm elections for control of Congress.
In practice, it would mean that abortion laws were left up to individual state legislatures, with as many as half of the country's states expected to introduce bans or new restrictions.
Abortion is the fiercest fought of all the so-called culture war battles, and Republicans have pushed hard for years to overturn Roe -- something that became almost inevitable once three conservative justices were appointed under Donald Trump, shifting the Supreme Court's political balance sharply to the right.
Biden, whose Democrats have been forecast to lose their narrow control of Congress in November, issued a rallying cry to the left, warning that restricting abortion rights will be only the beginning.
"I believe that a woman's right to choose is fundamental... and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned," Biden said in a written statement.
"It will fall on voters to elect" officials who back abortion rights, he said, vowing to work to pass legislation in Congress that codifies Roe v. Wade -- a goal impossible to achieve unless far more Democrats win seats.
Speaking to reporters, Biden went further, calling the draft ruling "radical" and warning of a "fundamental shift in American jurisprudence" that could put into question the future of gay marriage and "how you raise your child."
"It would mean that every other decision relating to the notion of privacy is thrown into question."
- 'Roe v. Wade is going to go!' -
The leaking of the draft ruling was unprecedented, knocking another hole in the once hallowed reputation of the top court as the one apolitical branch in the US government.
Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed that the document released by the Politico news website was authentic, although he cautioned that this did not necessarily represent the court's final decision. Roberts ordered a probe into the leak.
Crowds of protesters from both camps descended on the Supreme Court building, with anti-abortion activists chanting "abortion is violence. Abortion is oppression" as well as "Hey Hey Ho Ho Roe v. Wade is going to go!"
In Roe v. Wade, the court ruled that access to abortion is a constitutional right. In a subsequent 1992 ruling, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court guaranteed a woman's right to an abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb, which is typically around 22 to 24 weeks of gestation.
Most developed countries allow abortions on request up to a gestational limit, most often 12 weeks.
Roe v. Wade makes the United States one of a handful of nations to allow the procedure without restriction beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy -- although many others allow it past that point for specific reasons.
The court had been expected to decide this June on challenges to Roe v. Wade.
The Republican National Committee said it was time for abortion decisions to revert to state governments.
"The far left wants unelected judges to impose a radical, one-size fits all abortion policy, leaving Americans without a voice. The Republican Party will always stand for the sanctity of life," it said.
- 'Wrong from the start' -
The draft opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito and according to Politico has been circulating since February inside the court -- now dominated 6-3 by conservatives.
The 98-page draft majority opinion calls Roe v. Wade decision enshrining the right to abortion "egregiously wrong from the start."
"We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled," Alito writes in the document, labeled the "Opinion of the Court."
"It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives."
Democratic governors of several states including California, New Mexico and Michigan swiftly announced plans to enshrine abortion rights into law even if the court overturns Roe, with California Governor Gavin Newsom tweeting: "Women will remain protected here."
St.Ch.Baker--CPN