THE SQUIZ
US President Joe Biden has warned that overturning a landmark legal decision that effectively legalises abortion in the US would be a radical move that could threaten all citizens’ freedoms and challenge Americans’ right to privacy. A leaked draft of a majority Supreme Court decision says the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that legalised terminations is “egregiously wrong.” It’s not final, but it has galvanised support for both sides of the divisive abortion debate and sent a shockwave through the midterm election campaign, which will determine the shape of Biden’s remaining time in office.

GET ME ACROSS THE ROE V WADE ISSUE…
Sure. If this judgment is overturned, women’s access to abortion would be left up to the states, and they could instantly see the procedure restricted or banned in 23 states. One study from a pro-choice research group says 58% of American women of reproductive age (aka 40 million) live in states that are “hostile” to abortion. Other research has found that black and Hispanic women would be particularly affected by restrictions/bans because they get abortions at rates higher than their white peers due to more limited access to health care and birth control. They also have a harder time travelling out of their state to get a termination or raising children they might struggle to afford. Justice John Roberts is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court – he is furious that the draft judgement has been leaked but says the decision isn’t final and will be debated further before it’s published in the next 2 months. 

WHAT’S THIS GOT TO DO WITH ELECTIONS?
American presidents stand for election every 4 years but near the midpoint of their term, Congressional elections are held. All 435 members of the House of Representatives and about a 3rd of senators face re-election, so control of both chambers of the US Congress is in play. The Democrats are looking to win the Senate, which would open the door to actioning Biden’s agenda – but his poor standing in the polls has worried strategists. Commentators now say that the seismic shift in the political landscape brought on by the potential rescinding of reproductive rights could energise Democratic voters. So when the Aussie election is over in a couple of weeks, there’ll be a whole new race to tune into…