John Edwards is expected to announce that he is dropping out of the presidential race at 1pm today in New Orleans. Edwards has placed third in most primary contests so far, including a distant third in South Carolina, his home state, where he hoped to fare better. He did finish second in Iowa, but just one percentage point ahead of Hillary Clinton.

According to CNN and MSNBC, Edwards will not issue an endorsement in his speech this afternoon. But for his endorsement to have a significant impact, he will have to make it before Super Tuesday. It's hard to imagine Edwards endorsing anyone other than Barack Obama, for whom he often had high praise and with whom he seemed friendly.

Edwards was the first candidate to present a universal health care plan. When responding to Rewire's questionnaire on his positions on reproductive health issues, Edwards demonstrated a his understanding of the way in which socioeconomic status can limit the extent to which women can exercise their reproductive rights, and his belief that those rights must come with a guarantee to basic reproductive health services. To wit:

I am proud to be the first major presidential candidate to propose a specific plan to guarantee quality, affordable health care for every man, woman and child in America. My plan will establish new "Health Care Markets" that will give families and businesses purchasing power and a choice of quality plans, including one public plan. This will give every woman the opportunity to choose an insurance plan that meets her personal reproductive and sexual health needs.

And:

Supporting reproductive health rights must include supporting the decision of women who decide to bear children – including children born to low-income women. I am proud to have a truly universal health care plan that will require by law that every American is covered.

What will happen to the 26 delegates Edwards has amassed, 12 of them pledged? It seems that they have now become unpledged and are free to vote as they wish, though Edwards can issue an endorsement and encourage his delegates to vote for a particular candidate. As we get more information on this, we'll update this post.