The governor later added on Twitter: “I refuse to let my new granddaughter have to fight for the rights that generations have fought for & won, rights that she should be guaranteed.”
“I am horrified by the apparent draft supreme court opinion leaked this evening … this should not be the supreme court’s final opinion when it comes to abortion rights,” said New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul in a statement. “At this critical moment, we must protect and expand Democrats’ Senate majority with the power to confirm or reject supreme court justices.” Photograph: Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images After the Politico story broke, footage posted to social media showed a crowd of protesters gathering outside the supreme court late on Monday night, waving signs and chanting “my body, my choice.”ĭemocrats condemned the leaked ruling, with Christie Roberts calling it a ‘Republican attack on … women’s health care’. The supreme court declined to confirm what would be the worst security breach in its history – regarding one of its most consequential rulings in decades that is sure to enflame America’s deep political divisions. The draft opinion runs to 98 pages, including a 31-page appendix of historical state abortion laws, and includes 118 footnotes. Politico said it received a copy of the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court’s proceedings in the Mississippi case. Several Republican-led states have already passed highly restrictive abortion laws in anticipation of such a ruling by the supreme court which, thanks to three appointments by Donald Trump, now has a 6-3 conservative majority.
That would sound the death knell for the half-century guarantee of nationwide protection of reproductive rights and allow each state to decide whether to restrict or ban abortion. Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Imagesīut if, as expected, it is adopted, the decision would rule in favour of Mississippi in a highly consequential case about that state’s attempt to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. A ruling is only final when it is published by the court.Ī draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito claims that Roe and Casey have deepened division in the US. At times, in between the initial vote and the ruling being released, the vote alignment can change. It is then circulated among the justices. It is time to heed the constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”įour of the other Republican-appointed justices – Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett – voted with Alito in the conference held among the justices, the article added.Īfter an initial vote among the justices following the oral argument, one is assigned the majority opinion and writes a draft.
The justice adds: “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.” Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. Politico quoted Alito as saying: “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.