Biden To Speak On Abortion Rights After Supreme Court Decision

President Joe Biden was expected on Friday to address the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision in public remarks at 12.30 p.m. ET (1630 GMT), the White House said.

The court ruling was issued just after 10 a.m. ET and left many White House aides scrambling to react because they had expected it to drop next week. Biden's speech was announced about an hour later.

"We were preparing for this to land next week," a White House source said.

Another source told Reuters "no one knew when this would land but the preparations for the ruling to drop have been under way."

The court took the dramatic step of overturning the ruling that recognized a woman's constitutional right to an abortion and legalized it nationwide, handing a momentous victory to Republicans and religious conservatives who want to limit or ban the procedure.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department will work "tirelessly" to protect and advance reproductive freedom.

"Today's decision does not eliminate the ability of states to keep abortion legal within their borders. And the Constitution continues to restrict states' authority to ban reproductive services provided outside their borders."

Biden, a lifelong Catholic, was opposed to Roe in the early days of his career and only later embraced abortion rights. He made forceful comments after a leaked draft opinion was revealed in May but up to that point he had never said the word "abortion" aloud as president.

In May, many women's rights advocates expressed deep frustration with the White House and Democrats in general after the draft ruling was leaked, criticizing a lack of urgency and preparation.

Over the past several weeks, the White House had been preparing its response and actions it can take in meetings with several stakeholders, including abortion rights activists, privacy and constitutional experts.