Democrat AGs vow to defend abortion rights

US VICE-President Kamala Harris met a group of seven Democratic attorneys-general yesterday, a White House official said, to discuss the defence to a major ruling that could dramatically curtail abortion rights in the country.

The conservative-majority US Supreme Court was to issue a decision in coming days to overturn Roe v Wade, which guaranteed the right to an abortion, potentially paving the way to about half of the 50 US states banning or restricting the procedure.

The White House meeting included attorneys-general of Wisconsin, Nevada, Illinois, California, Delaware, New York and Washington state.

State attorneys-general have considerable influence over rules, and Democrat AGs have pledged to hold the line if Roe falls. They will form the first line of defence for the Biden administration to preserve abortion rights at the state level.

The Democratic Attorneys-General Association is preparing to spend millions to elect candidates who support abortion rights.