Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade published by Politico

A Politico report released Monday suggests that the U.S. Supreme Court could be ready to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. According to Politico, the majority opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito, and would strike down the 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide.

If Roe v. Wade were overturned, it could lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

The draft opinion, which has not been authenticated, suggests that when the justices met in private shortly after arguments in the case on Dec. 1, at least five voted to overrule the case, and Alito was assigned the task of writing the court’s majority opinion.

It’s unclear if the “leaked” draft represents the high court’s final word on the matter.

Critics say the Politico report represents a massive and extremely rare breach of the court’s secretive deliberation process.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft opinion allegedly states. We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Justice Alito writes in the document, labeled as the “Opinion of the Court.” “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

Justice Alito a member of the high court’s 6-3 conservative majority, was appointed by former President George W. Bush. According to the Associated Press, the leaked document was labeled a “1st Draft” of the “Opinion of the Court” in a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Already, Arizona lawmakers and political groups are reacting to the reports.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego tweeted: “If true, the Supreme Court decision is devastating to women. Our bodies are our own. Elections matter.”

And the Arizona Democratic Party tweeted: “We are deeply angered and hurt by the reports of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. If overturned, pregnant Arizonans, their families and physicians will be harmed. This is a cruel and unforgivable step backwards and our people will suffer because of it.”

Democrat Katie Hobbs, who is running for Arizona Governor, had this response: “The Supreme Court may have turned its back on women, but I never will.”

Conservative policy organization Center for Arizona Policy, tweeted a statement that reads, in part, “If the Court does overturn Roe, it will be a great victory for innocent life and women spared the emotional and physical harms of abortion. Roe made Arizona’s law prohibiting abortion except to save the life of the mother unenforceable. An overturning of Roe should result in that law being enforceable once again. The pro-life movement in this state will be ready to serve women facing unplanned pregnancies and their babies.”

Meantime, the Republican Party of Arizona stated in a tweet: “Pray for the wisdom, courage, and safety of our Supreme Court Justices.” The thread continued on to comment about the leaked draft: “Whoever leaked a draft of the Roe v. Wade ruling should be FIRED immediately or IMPEACHED if a Justice. This has never happened in the history of the United States.”

And Republican Karrin Taylor Robson, who is running for Arizona Governor, stated in a tweet: “If this opinion holds, and I pray that it does, I will do everything in my power as Governor to make sure Arizona is the most pro-life state in the union.”

It’s unclear if the “leaked” draft represents the high court’s final word on the matter. A Supreme Court spokesperson declined to comment about the draft document .The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case before its term ends in late June or early July.

Late Monday night, photos and videos showed several hundred people gathered outside the Supreme Court building in Washington D.C.  Supporters of legal abortion rights carried signs that read, “My Body, my choice” and “Protect Roe v. Wade.” The protesters could be heard chanting “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Samuel Alito’s gotta go,” and “Pro life is a lie. You don’t care if women die.”