Crowds gather outside the Supreme Court on Monday night, May 2, 2002 in Washington. A draft opinion circulating among Supreme Court justices suggests a majority earlier this year backed the reversal of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade case, which legalized abortions nationwide, according to a report published Monday night in Politico. . It is not clear whether the draft represents the court’s final argument on the matter. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the published Politico plan, which, if verified, marks a shocking revelation of the Supreme Court’s secret consultation process, especially before the formal decision on a case. (AP Photo / Anna Johnson) A draft opinion suggests that the US Supreme Court could be ready to overturn the landmark case of 1973 Roe v. Wade legalized abortions nationwide, according to a Politico report released Monday. A decision by Roe to overthrow him would lead to a ban on abortions in about half of the states and could have huge consequences for this year’s election. However, it is not clear whether the draft represents the court’s final argument on the matter – views often change large and small in the drafting process. Whatever the outcome, the Politico report represents an extremely rare breach of the court’s secret consultation process and a case of paramount importance. “Roe made a terrible mistake from the beginning,” the draft said. Signed by Judge Samuel Alito, a member of the 6-3 Conservative majority in the court appointed by former President George W. Bush. The document was described as the “First Draft” of the “Court of Opinion” in a case challenging the Mississippi abortion ban after 15 weeks, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The court is expected to rule on the case before the end of her term in late June or early July. The draft opinion actually states that there is no constitutional right to abortion services and will allow individual states to regulate more strictly or to ban the procedure permanently. “We believe Roe and Casey should be overlooked,” he said, referring to the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey who confirmed Roe’s assertion of a constitutional right to abortion services, but allowed states to impose certain restrictions on the practice. “It is time to pay attention to the Constitution and return the issue of abortions to the elected representatives of the people.” A spokeswoman for the Supreme Court said the court had no comment and the Associated Press could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the published Politico plan, which dates back to February. Politico only said it had received “a copy of the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court proceedings in the Mississippi case along with other details supporting the authenticity of the document”. The draft opinion strongly suggests that when the judges met in private shortly after the arguments in the case on December 1, at least five voted in favor of Roe and Casey, and Alito was given the task of writing the majority of the court. Votes and opinions in a case are not final until a decision is announced or, in a change brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, posted on the court’s website. The report comes amid a legislative push to limit abortions in several Republican-led states – Oklahoma is the most recent – even before the court rules. Critics of the measures have said that low-income women will disproportionately bear the brunt of the new restrictions. The leak sparked the strong political repercussions that the Supreme Court’s final ruling was expected to have during the midterm election year. Politicians on both sides of the aisle were already taking advantage of the report to raise funds and mobilize their supporters on both sides of the issue. An AP-NORC poll in December found that Democrats increasingly see the protection of abortion rights as a top priority for the government. Other polls suggest relatively few Americans want to see Roe overthrown. In 2020, the AP VoteCast found that 69% of voters in the presidential election said the Supreme Court should leave Roe v. Wade as it is. Only 29% said the court should overturn the decision. In general, the AP-NORC poll finds that the majority of the public argues that abortion is legal in most or all cases. However, when asked about abortion policy in general, Americans have different views on the issue and many do not believe that abortion should be possible after the first trimester or that women should be able to have a legal abortion for any reason. . Alito, in the draft, said the court could not predict how the public might react and should not try. “We can not allow our decisions to be influenced by any external influences, such as concern about the public reaction to our work,” Alito wrote in the draft opinion, according to Politico. In disagreements in December, all six Conservative judges signaled support for Mississippi law, and five raised questions suggesting Roe and Casey’s excess was a possibility. Only Supreme Court Justice John Roberts seemed ready to take the smallest step of enforcing the 15-week ban, although that would also be a significant weakening of abortion rights. Until now, the court has allowed states to regulate but not prohibit abortion before the viability point, about 24 weeks. The three liberal judges of the court seemed likely to disagree. It is impossible to know what efforts are being made behind the scenes to influence the vote of any justice. If Roberts tends to allow Rowe to survive, he only needs to choose another conservative vote to strip the court of a majority to overturn the abortion milestone. Twenty-six states are certain or likely to ban abortion if Roe v. Is overthrown. Wade, according to the think tank in favor of abortion, the Guttmacher Institute. Of these, 22 states already have total or near-total bans on books that are currently blocked by Roe, with the exception of Texas. The state law banning it after six weeks has already been allowed to enter into force by the Supreme Court due to the unusual structure of law enforcement policy. Four more states are expected to pass the bans quickly if Roe is overthrown. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia, meanwhile, have protected access to abortion under state law. This year, pending a decision to overthrow or launch Roe, eight Conservative states have already moved to restrict abortion rights. Oklahoma, for example, has passed a number of bills in recent weeks, including one that goes into effect this summer, making abortion a felony. Like many anti-abortion bills passed in the GOP-led states this year, it has no exceptions for rape or incest, just to save the mother’s life. Seven Democratic states have protected or expanded access to the process, including California, which has passed legislation that makes the process less costly and is considering other bills to become an “abortion shelter” if Roe is overthrown. The draft seemed legal to some of the court’s supporters. Veteran Supreme Court Justice Neal Katyal, who worked as a clerk for Judge Stephen Breyer and was therefore able to see drafts, wrote on Twitter: “There are many signs that the opinion is legal. The length and depth of the analysis would be very difficult to falsify. He says it was written by Alito and it definitely sounds like him. “
