A leaked a draft opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito would overturn Roe v. Wade, the court’s 1973 decision to legalize abortion at a federal level on Monday, which liberals and pro-choice activists have been fearing since the nation’s highest court got a conservative super majority. Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed on Tuesday that the leaked document was legitimate and ordered an investigation into the matter.

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has spoken out against the drafted decision, saying it was “Not surprising. But still outrageous,” in a tweet sent Monday night. She also said the decision, if made official “will kill and subjugate women even as a vast majority of Americans think abortion should be legal. What an utter disgrace.”

Clinton warned of this outcome when Justice Brett Kavanaugh was first being considered for the lifetime appointment back in the fall of 2018.

In part, the draft opinion read that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” and later elaborated “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

This document does not represent a final decision on the issue and some Justices may change their votes between now and the final opinion being published, which is predicted to be within the next two months. It listed Justices Clarence ThomasNeil Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett as in favor of Alito’s opinion, while Democrat appointees Stephen BreyerSonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan were dissenting.

Over half of states in the U.S., mostly in the south and midwest, have enacted abortion bans set to take effect as soon as Roe is overturned, with others already having plenty of restrictions in place without that occurring.

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Jacob Linden

Article by Jacob Linden

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