When Joe Biden won the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, some liberals and progressives had reservations about the former vice president's overall record on abortion rights — which could be characterized as pro-choice but anti-abortion. But with the U.S. Supreme Court almost certain to overturn Roe v. Wade, New York Times reporter Peter Baker writes in an article published on May 5, the 79-year-old Biden is being an unlikely defender of abortion rights.
"For President Biden, the threat to the landmark Roe decision represents a singular challenge as he attempts to put aside a long history of evident discomfort with the issue of abortion to transform himself into a champion of the constitutional right that may soon be erased from the law books," Baker explains. "Over the course of a half-century in national politics, Mr. Biden has rarely been the full-throated backer of abortion rights that activists have sought, evolving from an outright critic of Roe early in his career to a seemingly reluctant and largely quiet supporter."
