Activists on both sides of the abortion debate have spent months planning for a blockbuster Supreme Court ruling this year on Roe v. Wade. None of those plans anticipated the particular jolt on Monday night, when a leaked draft opinion signaled a decisive end to the decadeslong precedent.
The disclosure accelerated game plans already in the works for the upcoming midterm elections, especially in states holding marquee gubernatorial and Senate races, such as Georgia and Arizona. While Republicans have been more effective in rallying supporters around abortion in the past, Democrats believe the reality of Roe’s seemingly imminent reversal may galvanize their voters to avoid steep losses in November.
Still, supporters and opponents of abortion access took care to hedge their messaging on Tuesday, mindful that Justice Samuel Alito’s proposed revocation of nationwide abortion protections telegraphed where the conservative court was leaning but was not its final say.
