U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about gas prices during remarks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building's South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 22, 2022.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about gas prices during remarks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building's South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 22, 2022. Reuters / KEVIN LAMARQUE

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Friday overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision left many White House aides scrambling to react because they had only expected it to drop next week.

President Joe Biden was expected to address the ruling in public remarks on Friday, but as of 11 a.m. ET (1500 GMT), the White House had made no changes to his public schedule or released any statements in response.

The ruling was issued just after 10 a.m. ET.

"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.

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, over the past several weeks.

With the court due to issue an opinion in the case before going into summer recess soon, Vice President Kamala Harris, one of the most prominent abortion rights voices in the Biden administration, leaned into the topic.

On Thursday, Harris met with a group of seven Democratic attorneys general to discuss how to respond to the expected ruling.

On Friday, Harris was traveling in Chicago, where she was due to talk about maternal health and meet Latino leaders.