Supreme Court says leaked abortion draft is genuine; Roberts orders investigation into leak

Pro-abortion and anti-abortion demonstrators protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court after the leak of a draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito preparing for a majority of the court to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision later this 12 months, in Washington, U.S., Might 3, 2022. 

Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

Supreme Courtroom Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of a leaked draft court docket opinion that would toss out longstanding abortion rights, however noted that isn't the court's remaining decision.

Roberts ordered an investigation into the leaker.

"To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed," the chief justice mentioned in a statement. "The work of the Court docket won't be affected in any way."

"I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the supply of the leak," Roberts said.

The advance publication of a draft opinion is just about unprecedented for the high courtroom, the place leaks of any variety are exceedingly uncommon.

The court docket shares drafts of opinions internally long earlier than they're issued publicly, Roberts famous, calling it "a routine and essential part of the Court docket's confidential deliberative work."

The draft on this high-profile abortion case was created in February, in response to Politico, which obtained the opinion.

The justices, legislation clerks and different staff of the court are "intensely loyal to the establishment and devoted to the rule of legislation," Roberts mentioned.

"Court employees have an exemplary and important custom of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial course of and upholding the belief of the Court docket. This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that's an affront to the Court and the group of public servants who work right here," he mentioned.

The publication of the draft opinion rocked Washington, triggering waves of shock and fury from Democrats who at the moment are pushing for Congress to right away codify abortion rights by means of legislation.

Republicans decried the leak itself, and many called for the sort of investigation the Roberts announced late Tuesday morning. The GOP lawmakers who commented on the draft opinion praised it for putting selections about abortion within the arms of states instead of the federal authorities.

The 98-page draft opinion was penned by Justice Samuel Alito, one in every of six conservatives on a court docket that has moved sharply to the suitable within the wake of the Trump administration.

Alito's draft would toss out the precedent set by the 1973 case Roe v. Wade and reaffirmed in 1992 by Planned Parenthood v. Casey. These pivotal rulings shield the fitting to get an abortion earlier than the purpose of fetal viability and require that rules limiting abortion access don't pose an "undue burden."

Alito wrote: "We maintain that Roe and Casey must be overruled."

The draft of the opinion of the court docket in Dobbs v. Jackson Ladies's Health Organization would facet with the state of Mississippi in defense of a legislation that would ban almost all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Decrease federal courts had blocked the law on the grounds that it violates the protections established by the Roe and Casey choices.

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