Washington, D.C. - A leaked draft opinion shows that the United States Supreme Court is poised to overturn long-standing abortion rights by striking down the landmark case, Roe v. Wade.
It’s important to note that the opinion—first published by Politico—is only the first draft, meaning votes can change before opinions are officially released by the court; which is likely to happen sometime in June. Still, even though the decision isn’t final, hundreds gathered outside of the court on Monday (May 2) and millions went online to speak out against the draft. National lawmakers even chimed in, with some saying Congress needs to codify Roe v. Wade.
“Congress must pass legislation that codifies Roe v. Wade as the law of the land in this country NOW. And if there aren’t 60 votes in the Senate to do it, and there are not, we must end the filibuster to pass it with 50 votes,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) on Twitter.
The fact that the opinion was leaked is also causing a stir online.
“It’s impossible to overstate the earthquake this will cause inside the Court, in terms of the destruction of trust among the Justices and staff,” wrote SCOTUSBlog, an independent news blog covering the Supreme Court. “This leak is the gravest, most unforgivable sin.”
According to Politico, the draft—penned by Justice Samuel Alito—was originally circulated in February, two months after the court heard oral arguments on the case. The report further states that Alito was backed by five other justices, three of which were appointed by former President Donald Trump. Three other justices dissented against the opinion, while it’s unclear how another justice voted.
In the draft, Alito described abortion as a “profound moral issue” that a majority of Americans have “sharply conflicting views” on.
“Some believe fervently that a human person comes into being at conception and that abortion ends an innocent life. Others feel just as strongly that any regulation of abortion invades a woman's right to control her own body and prevents women from achieving full equality,” wrote Alito.
If nothing about the opinion were to change, it’s likely that the court will overturn the landmark 1973 decision. However, Roe v. Wade being overturned does not mean that abortion will be federally outlawed. Instead, states would be given the power to decide the legality behind the procedure. That can still lead to a rather grim conclusion for some, as about half of the United States stands poised to strike down abortion.
That’s according to analysis from the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights, which says 26 states are likely to ban abortion without the Roe v. Wade decision.
“It is also important to remember that Roe would not have to be overturned entirely to start the process of activating some trigger laws. If the Court weakens or undermines existing federal constitutional protections, that may be enough momentum for states to start implementing these bans,” the study said.
Florida is already one state that has taken steps to block abortion. In April, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that bans the procedure after 15-weeks, decreasing the original time frame of 24 weeks. A judge also issued a ruling that says women must wait 24 hours after seeing a physician before having an abortion.
