places like that we are going to continue to focus on those women, focusing on the humanity of those women and of providing them with holistic life affirming options to make sure that they get access to the resources and help that they need. reporter: while roughly half of states get ready to meet higher demand for abortions it is an issue that long divided the country and if roe v. wade is overturned those divisions may grow deeper stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. the political fall kraut from that leaked draft was immediate. president biden saying if enacted it would be a radical decision but many republicans blasting that breach of supreme court confidentiality. now it could become a key issue in midterm elections. peter alexander at the white house. reporter: tonight president biden slamming the court s leaked draft opinion that would overturn roe v. wade. if this decision holds, it s really quite a radical decision i hope there are not
unpack here tonight. justice correspondent pete williams has more reporter: demonstrators flocked to the supreme court shortly after politico broke the news monday night, an unprecedented leak of an entire draft opinion in one the court s most consequential cases saying roe v. wade should be overruled. written by justice samuel alito it says there is no support for roe in any part of the constitution and, quote, a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the nation s history and traditions the authority to decide whether abortion is legal, he says, should be left to the people and their elected representatives. while the publication of the draft is a shock, the conclusion of the draft shouldn t be it was apparent when the case was argued december 1 that at least five justices were prepared to overturn roe, including justice alito, who was an aggressive questioner. can it be said that the right to abortion is deeply root inside t history and traditions of the american people
reporter: the draft opinion says because abortion involves taking the life of a fetus it s in a class of itself, striking town roe, he writes, would not undercut other constitutional protections for interracial and same-sex marriage. after declining comment, the supreme court confirmed 15 hours after the draft was published it was authentic. chief justice roberts launched an immediate investigation of who leaked it. he called the leak a singular and egregious breach of trust and said if it was intended to undermine the integrity of the court s operations it will not succeed the work of the court, he said, will not be affected in any way. but the court is now in turmoil with suspicion that one of the court s law clerks might have been the leaker this never happened in american history and the court pay never be the same with the trust between the justices and law clerks because it is only been about trust. reporter: the case at issue involves the fate of a mississippi law passed i
weeks of pregnancy lower courts said it would violate the scored s abortion precedence beginning with roe in 1973 that say states cannot ban abortion before the age of fetal viability, around 23 weeks into the pregnancy. a decision in the case was expected by late june. pete, how does the court plan to proceed in investigating this leak chief justice roberts has given assignment to gail conway, the court s marshall, chief security officer leak investigators are never easy could lead to new security measures, lester, with a lot of packs here tonight. we can hear it. thanks some states are not waiting for the court to strike down roe v. wade oklahoma s governor signed a bill banning abortions there after six weeks of pregnancy. stephanie gosk on how this could play out across the country reporter: it is not a final decision much of today s
enough votes for it. reporter: the president saying it throws into question rights including same-sex marriage. it s a fundamental shift. reporter: the bombshell propelling abortion rights into the midterm spotlight an election set to be dominated by rising inflation and the economy. now democrats are aiming to hold a senate vote to guarantee abortion remains legal nationwide i am here because the united states congress can change all of this. reporter: but their options are limited without 60 votes to pass it or enough democratic votes to change senate rules. i think the codification of roe makes a lot of sense. reporter: still the president tonight would not say if he would support scrapping the filibuster the draft opinion also a surprise to some republicans. it rocks my confidence in the court right now. reporter: with another accusing two conservative justices of betraying their previous pledges about row.