Joe Biden gives major abortion speech in final run-up to midterms

President Joe Biden sought Tuesday to make the battle over abortion a centerpiece of the midterm elections, hoping to help Democrats claw back ground as polls show Americans far more concerned by the economy.

Biden's upcoming speech in Washington marks a newly intensified push by the White House to lift the party ahead of the November 8, when Democrats hope to defy historical trends by retaining their razor-thin control of Congress.

Midterm votes typically see the party in the White House punished and this year the Democrats face a potential tsunami of discontent over an unpopular president, post-pandemic economic woes and fierce cultural wars around schools, gender issues and abortion.

It's abortion, however, that Biden sees as a potential game-changer, with anger seething over the Supreme Court's shock decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the historic ruling from half a century ago that enshrined access to abortions nationwide.

In his speech, Biden will return to the message he has repeatedly hammered, casting Republicans as seeking extreme restrictions on abortion and urging voters to use the midterms to rally around the issue.

Rather than merely protest against Republicans, Biden will frame the election as a chance for Democrats to increase their congressional majority and win an opportunity to set a new, national law on abortion rights -- effectively overturning the Supreme Court decision.

"President Biden will speak about the choice that voters face this November between Republicans who want a national abortion ban that would criminalize doctors for performing care and Democrats who want to codify Roe into law to protect women's reproductive freedom," a Democratic party official told reporters.

"He will say that if the American people elect more Democratic senators in November and keep the House Democratic, the first bill he will send to the next Congress will be to codify Roe -- and he will sign it around the 50th anniversary of the Roe decision."

There's no questioning the passion swirling around abortion on the political stage.

Roe v. Wade made the procedure legal everywhere, while the Supreme Court decision handed power back to individual state governments, prompting Republican leaderships across the country to swiftly move to impose draconian restrictions or bans.

Biden will note how "nearly half the states in the United States have either passed a ban on abortion, or will shortly, and in many states, abortion is already banned even in cases of rape and incest," the Democratic official, who asked not to be identified, said ahead of Biden's address.

The issue is potent, but questions linger over whether it will move the needle in three weeks.

Democratic officials, including Biden, have repeatedly suggested the possibility of an electoral uprising led by women.

"I don't think the court, or for that matter, the Republicans, who for decades have pushed their extreme agenda, have a clue about the power of American women," Biden said after the court ruling.

"They're about to find out, in my view. It's my hope and strong belief that women will, in fact, turn out in record numbers to reclaim the rights."

The bad news for Democrats, however, is that polls show abortion is far down the list of concerns motivating most voters.

A New York Times/Siena poll out this week showed that of likely voters, 26 per cent named the economy as the top issue and 18 per cent listed inflation, which is running at the highest rates in four decades.

Abortion scored a lowly five per cent of likely voters.

Worryingly for Democrats, the poll also found a stunning shift from women independent voters.

In September, this group backed Democrats over Republicans by 14 points. The latest poll shows them backing Republicans by 18 points.