1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, it would immediately split the country into states with abortion access and those that outlaw it.Some states had already been preparing for the potential that the high court could weaken or overturn Roe, but the bombshell leak of the draft opinion appeared to accelerate that drive Tuesday, setting the country on course for an even more jumbled landscape of abortion rights even before the court actually issues its ruling.Almost immediately after Politico released the draft Monday night, Republicans who had fostered a decades-long push to end abortion rights cheered the prospect while Democrats vowed to fight the possible overturning of a constitutional right that has been in place for nearly a half-century.RELATED: After Supreme Court leak, Biden says 'stability of our law' demands Roe v.
Wade not be overturnedIn California, Democrats who wield control of the state Legislature and the governor’s office issued a joint statement late Monday announcing they would seek to amend the state’s constitution to enshrine abortion rights."California will not stand idly by as women across America are stripped of their rights and the progress so many have fought for gets erased," California Democrats said. "We know we can’t trust the Supreme Court to protect reproductive rights, so California will build a firewall around this right in our state constitution.
Women will remain protected here."RELATED: Local, California leaders react to U.S. Supreme Court possibly overturning Roe v.
WadeAbout half of U.S. states are already expected to ban abortion if Roe falls, according to the abortion-rights think tank Guttmacher Institute.