The president of the US Supreme Court, Justice John Roberts, announced this Tuesday (3) the opening of an investigation into the leak of the draft decision of the court on the right to abortion in the country. The document, revealed by the Politico website, indicates that the court will reverse its understanding on the subject.
In a press release, the magistrate confirmed the authenticity of the draft and called the episode a “blatant breach of trust”. “To the extent that this betrayal was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it was unsuccessful. The court’s work will not be affected in any way,” he said.
Roberts also pointed out that the draft does not represent the final position of any member of the court.
The leaked draft, authored by Judge Samuel Alito, highlighted Politico, constitutes a “total and inflexible repudiation” of Roe v. Wade, a decision that granted constitutional protection to the right to abortion, and another 1992 judgment —Planned Parenthood v. Casey—, who ratified it. In the document, four other conservative judges —Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — allegedly endorsed the position of Alito, appointed by former President George W. Bush to the court in 2006.
The progressive wing magistrates —Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan—, who are expected to form dissent, are said to be acting to try to convince colleagues to change their position. It is unclear how Roberts, a moderate, plans to vote. The leak of the draft with the majority opinion of a case still without trial is unprecedented in the modern history of the highest court in the country.
The Supreme Court is debating legislation passed in Mississippi that bans abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation. In the analysis of the case, four judges had already indicated that they would vote in favor of the device – paving the way for a change of understanding and the adoption of similar rules in more states.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Americans to vote in November’s legislative elections to defend the “fundamental” right to abortion if the Supreme Court does in fact overturn the constitutional guarantees that currently allow for the procedure. .
If the court reverses case law in place since the 1970s, “it will be up to our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose,” Biden said in a statement. “And it will be up to voters in November to choose parliamentarians in favor of the law.”
