Five-vote majority to overturn Roe v. Wade remains intact months after leaked draft written: report

Months after Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft majority opinion on the unconstitutionality of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey was written and a week after Politico printed the leaked document, sources say the five-vote majority needed for the Supreme Court to reverse the controversial decisions remain intact.

Though the leaked draft of Alito’s opinion, written on February 10,  has likely undergone multiple changes as the justices add their critiques and revisions, three conservatives close to the court have told The Washington Post the majority of justices will still vote to strike the controversial decisions.

According to WaPo: “A person close to the court’s most conservative members said Roberts told his fellow jurists in a private conference in early December that he planned to uphold the state law and write an opinion that left Roe and Casey in place for now. But the other conservatives were more interested in an opinion that overturned the precedents, the person said.”

Joining Alito’s opinion are Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

Chief Justice Roberts, who will likely oppose the decision, has reportedly attempted to convince Coney Barret and Kavanaugh to side with him.

“The court’s right flank is sometimes divided that way,” explains The Post, “with Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch pushing for aggressive changes in the law, and Roberts, Kavanaugh and Barret more content to move more incrementally.”

While Roberts does not support abortion rights, notes The Post, “he is a fierce defender of the court’s reputation, which he believes suffers when the public perceives its decisions as a reflection of the political backgrounds of its members.”

Still, Roberts called the leak a “betrayal” in a statement in which the Supreme Court also confirmed the leak to be authentic.

“Justices circulate draft opinions internally as a routine and essential part of the Court’s confidential deliberative work,” SCOTUS said on May 3rd. “Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.”

“To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed,” vowed Roberts. “The work of the Court will not be affected in any way.”

Roberts praised those who work at the Court — “permanent employees and law clerks alike” — and said, “This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here.”

Roberts called on the Marshal of the Court to “launch an investigation into the source of the leak.”

In the days since the leak was published, a pro-abortion group posted the home addresses of the Supreme Court Justices online and urged activists to descend on them in protest.

The White House, as of this report, has yet to condemn the actions.

Caution: Adult Language

 

 

Melissa Fine

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