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

Pro-abortion and anti-abortion demonstrators protest exterior the U.S. Supreme Court docket after the leak of a draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito making ready for a majority of the courtroom to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights determination 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 opinion that would toss out longstanding abortion rights, but noted that isn't the court docket's final choice.

Roberts ordered an investigation into the leaker.

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

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

The advance publication of a draft opinion is virtually unprecedented for the excessive court docket, the place leaks of any type are exceedingly uncommon.

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

The draft in this high-profile abortion case was created in February, in keeping with Politico, which obtained the opinion.

The justices, legislation clerks and different employees of the courtroom are "intensely loyal to the establishment and dedicated to the rule of legislation," Roberts stated.

"Court workers have an exemplary and important custom of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the belief of the Court. This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Courtroom and the community of public servants who work here," he said.

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

Republicans decried the leak itself, and many called for the form of investigation the Roberts introduced late Tuesday morning. The GOP lawmakers who commented on the draft opinion praised it for putting choices about abortion in the palms of states instead of the federal authorities.

The 98-page draft opinion was penned by Justice Samuel Alito, considered one of six conservatives on a court docket that has moved sharply to the correct in 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 protect the suitable to get an abortion earlier than the purpose of fetal viability and require that regulations limiting abortion access don't pose an "undue burden."

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

The draft of the opinion of the courtroom in Dobbs v. Jackson Girls's Well being Group would side with the state of Mississippi in defense of a law that would ban nearly all abortions after 15 weeks of being pregnant.

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

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