May 11, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Biden says same-sex marriage under threat if Roe v. Wade overturned

Rebecca Falconer

President Joe Biden speaks to guests gathered at the O'Connor Grain Farm on May 11, 2022 in Kankakee, Illinois. — President Biden at an event in Kankakee, Ill., on Wednesday. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

President Biden said at a Chicago fundraising event Wednesday that if the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade, it could next strike down other rights like same-sex marriage and contraception access.

What he's saying: "It's not only the brutality of taking away a woman's right to control her own body, and all the damage it does," Biden said in his strongest comments yet on the leaked draft decision indicating the court would overturn the landmark ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, per a pool report.

"Mark my words: they are going to go after the [2015] Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage," Biden said.
He also pointed to the 1965 case Griswold v. Connecticut — which ruled that the right to privacy prevents states from making the use of contraception by married couples illegal.

"You're going to see these decisions up for grabs and further split the United States. We're gonna be arguing about things we shouldn't have to argue about."

— President Biden

The big picture: Biden's comments come days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said marriage equality would be under threat if Roe v. Wade were overturned.

Abortion politics are reshaping Democrats' campaign messaging and tactics ahead of the midterm elections in the wake of the draft leak to Politico earlier this month.

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Biden says same-sex marriage under threat if Roe v. Wade overturned

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