Analysis
At the time of Biden’s May 2022 remark, *Roe v. Wade* (decided in 1973) had indeed been the controlling Supreme Court precedent for **49 years**, establishing a constitutional right to abortion under the 14th Amendment. His claim that overturning it would undermine 'basic fairness and the stability of our law' reflected widely held legal principles like *stare decisis* (respect for precedent), which the Court had reaffirmed in *Planned Parenthood v. Casey* (1992). While the *Dobbs* decision (June 2022) later reversed *Roe*, Biden’s statement about its standing and the risks of overturning it was factually correct *at the time it was made*.
Background
*Roe v. Wade* (1973) legalized abortion nationwide until fetal viability (~24 weeks), with later restrictions allowed. The precedent was modified but upheld in *Planned Parenthood v. Casey* (1992), which introduced the 'undue burden' standard. By May 2022, a leaked *Dobbs* draft opinion suggested the Court’s conservative majority was poised to overturn *Roe*, which it did on **June 24, 2022**, ending federal abortion protections.
Verdict summary
Biden accurately stated that *Roe v. Wade* (1973) had been constitutional precedent for nearly 50 years at the time and framed its potential overturning as a disruption to legal stability, which aligned with mainstream legal interpretations prior to *Dobbs*.