When the Supreme Court heard arguments in a major abortion case from Mississippi in December, it was clear to observers that there was substantial support among the court's conservative majority for overruling two landmark decisions that established and reaffirmed a woman’s right to an abortion.
So when a draft of the opinion in the case written by Justice Samuel Alito was leaked late Monday the potential outcome — the overruling of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey — was not the surprise. It was that the draft was leaked at all.
Even before arguments in the current case, however, the justices themselves have had a lot to say about abortion over the years — in opinions, votes, Senate confirmation testimony and elsewhere. One justice, Clarence Thomas, has openly called for overruling Roe and Casey.
