Supreme Court To Ban Abortions Again According To Document Leak
In a draft majority opinion, Associate Justice Samuel Alito wrote the affirmation to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Justice Alito wrote in the draft, titled “Opinion of the Court”, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start…We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled…It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” The draft does not represent the Court’s final decision.
My statement on the reported Supreme Court decision draft. pic.twitter.com/Kt3bP0kzqU
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 3, 2022
When a decision becomes final in the coming months, it will have stark consequences for reproductive rights in the United States. 13 states have “trigger laws” on the books that would automatically ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
One protester against the decision, Sarah Garland, stated, “Just the reality of if you make abortion illegal, women are still going to get abortions. It’s just going to become harder. And specifically, that’s going to negatively impact lower-class women, our Black, and brown sisters. Like, I haven’t always been pro-abortion. I even wouldn’t say that I am. But I’m just hoping that people can realize that it’s more complicated than pro-life, pro-choice.”
California will not stand by as women across America are stripped of their rights.
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) May 3, 2022
With @SenToniAtkins and @Rendon63rd, we are proposing an amendment to enshrine the right to choose in the California constitution. #RoeVsWade pic.twitter.com/CAS7m11VRk
Chief Justice John Roberts later confirmed that the leaked draft was authentic, promising an investigation into the source of the leak. He wrote, “To the extent, this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed…This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here.”
The justification Alito used is that Roe v. Wade is not rooted in U.S. history, prompting concern from activists that newer rulings like Obergefell v. Hodges (which legalized gay marriage) could be overturned.
A decision will likely occur in June or July.
