Chief Justice: ‘Leaked Abortion Abolition Document Genuine, But No Verdict Yet’ | Abroad

Previously reported the political news site Politico that the Supreme Court plans to overturn controversial decisions based on leaked documents. Roberts now felt the need to nuance the message. Roberts also ordered an investigation into the leak, US media reports.

In an early draft of an upcoming court ruling, which Politico may have seen and who publishes it onlineConservative Chief Justice Samuel Alito writes that “Roe and Casey must be thrown out.” Roe v. Wade was the 1973 case that gave Americans the right to abortion. This was confirmed in a 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

,,Roe was wrong all along. It’s time to listen to the Constitution and refer the issue of abortion to the representatives of the people,” Alito wrote in the not-yet-final ruling.

Almost immediately after the news broke, activists and anti-abortion activists took to the streets to demonstrate. They gathered outside the Supreme Court building in Washington. Opponents chanted “hey, hey, ho, ho, Roe vs. Wade gotta go,” while supporters shouted that abortion was part of health care.

The Politico document managed to get its hands on dates from February. According to the news site, it has never happened in the modern history of the Supreme Court that a draft decision becomes public while a case is still pending.

If the Court strikes down the federal right to abortion, individual states can decide whether or not to allow abortion. A number of states, including the most populous state of California, have already passed laws protecting the right to abortion. Democratic leaders are even now seeking to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution with an amendment to the law. “We can’t trust the Supreme Court to protect abortion rights, so we’re doing it ourselves,” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Twitter. A statement from Newsom and two senior party officials said they would “fight” to keep California women “protected.”

In fact, stricter measures have recently been introduced in about thirteen conservative US states. If Roe vs. Wade is swept off the table, then abortion should be banned there.

According to Politico, four other chief justices, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, agree and vote with Alito. Three progressive chief justices, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, write a so-called dissenting opinion. It is unclear how the chairman of the nine-member tribunal, Tory John Roberts, intends to vote. A final version of the decision is not expected for about two months and it is possible that the judges will change their minds, writes Politico.

Justices of the United States Supreme Court are appointed by the Senate after nomination by the President. They are appointed for life unless they resign, retire or are dismissed. Of the current nine judges – seven men, two women – three were appointed by George W. Bush, three by Donald Trump, two by Barack Obama and one by Bill Clinton.

Watch our most viewed news videos in the playlist below: