Abortion to become key fight in US midterms after stunning court leak

Democrats condemn supreme court's draft opinion and urge voters to support them in November to protect reproductive rights

The stunning revelation that the US supreme court has privately voted to overturn Roe v Wade immediately thrust one of the most polarizing issues in American life to the forefront of the national political debate, and now abortion rights promises to reshape the dynamics of the coming midterm elections.

The draft opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito and obtained by Politico in a highly unusual and possibly unprecedented leak from the nation's highest court, would strike down Roe, the landmark supreme court decision that has guaranteed access to abortion for nearly half a century, and a subsequent 1992 decision - Planned Parenthood v Casey - that largely upheld that right.