The U.S. Supreme Court is planning to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that provides federal constitutional protection to abortion rights, according to an initial draft majority opinion that was obtained by Politico.
What Happened: The draft opinion was authored by Justice Samuel Alito, according to the report, and addresses both the contentious Roe v. Wade ruling and the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling, arguing that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.”
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Alito wrote, according to Politico. “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is protected by any constitutional provision.”
Why It Matters: Leaks of draft opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court are without precedent and Politico did not immediately cite the source of the document.
It is also unclear if Chief Justice John Roberts is siding with the court’s five conservative-focused justices against its three liberal-focused justices in this matter.
The document is labeled as a first draft of the majority opinion and was circulated among the justices on Feb. 10. The court has not set a date regarding when a final judgment will be handed down.
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