Politico is reporting that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights.
Alito, in his draft majority opinion, says very clearly that he is seeking to overturn the Roe and Casey court decisions.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled," Alito writes, according to Politico. "The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision....”
In the past Chief Justice John Roberts has said that he wanted to remove the "viability" clause from the Roe decision, which is the way of essentially overturning the law without saying it.
According to Alito, "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives."
Legal analyst Harry Litman of the Los Angeles Times noted that for Alito to have written the opinion means that Chief Justice John Roberts assigned it to him. It's an interesting choice, Litman said, because Alito is "the least gifted and powerful writer probably of the 5."
All kinds of indications that it is the real deal, the actual Alito draft. So for starters, means Thomas assigned it to Alito. Probably offered t Barrett, who turned it down, & decided not to keep it. Interesting b/c Alito the least gifted and powerful writer probably of the 5.— Harry Litman (@Harry Litman) 1651540230
The Politico story indicates that four conservative justices were willing to sign on to Alito's opinion. Notably the Chief Justice is not mentioned— Lawrence Hurley (@Lawrence Hurley) 1651540665
As former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti explained, the decision is going to remove the autonomy of all women with one decision.
Millions of women are about to experience, for the first time, a world in which their reproductive rights are not constitutionally protected.\n\nElections matter and our courts matter. If you care about reproductive rights, it\u2019s time to stop sitting on the sidelines.https://twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/1521289548927545357\u00a0\u2026— Renato Mariotti (@Renato Mariotti) 1651539579
As one Civil Rights lawyer explained, "The draft sets out a vision of substantive due process as inflexible — a right exists only if it’s been recognized for generations. No room for constitutional change to match a more tolerant and enlightened society. A recipe for no Roe OR Griswold OR Obergefell."
Griswold was the 1965 ruling that declared the Constitution protects the liberty of married couples to buy and use contraceptives without the government probing their decisions or lives.
Obergefell is the ruling that ultimately legalized same-sex marriage.
The draft sets out a vision of substantive due process as inflexible \u2014 a right exists only if it\u2019s been recognized for generations. No room for constitutional change to match a more tolerant and enlightened society. A recipe for no Roe OR Griswold OR Obergefell. https://twitter.com/steve_vladeck/status/1521290707578892288\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/yw6ajomViy— Hannah (@Hannah) 1651539454
"Casey described itself as calling both sides of the national controversy to resolve their debate, but in doing so, Casey necessarily declared a winning side," Alito also writes. "The Court short-circuited the democratic process by closing it to the large number of Americans who dissented in any respect from Roe. … Together, Roe and Casey represent an error that cannot be allowed to stand.”
As former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal explained, there are currently laws on the books in some states that won't even allow abortion for women who have been raped or children who have been molested.
This opinion says states can criminalize abortion, with no rape or incest exception. It is exactly the hardline position I\u2019ve been saying the Court is going to impose for the last 3 years. It will set women back in profound ways. Congress must act ASAP.https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/06/07/roe-abortion-congress-mississippi/\u00a0\u2026— Neal Katyal (@Neal Katyal) 1651539408
The draft Roe opinion appears to be as bad as expected, but I\u2019m glad it leaked because this leak will foster anger and distrust within the irredeemable institution that is the Supreme Court of the United States.— Ian Millhiser (@Ian Millhiser) 1651539337
Ten bucks this opinion provides a selective history of eugenics....— Melissa Murray (@Melissa Murray) 1651539410
Some legal analysts also cited Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who claimed that she was a moderate pro-choice republican. When Judge Brett Kavanaugh was up for a vote, Collins agreed to support him, saying that Kavanaugh believed a woman's right to choose was "settled law?"
Thanks, Susan Collins— Joyce Alene (@Joyce Alene) 1651540416
Somewhere in Maine, Susan Collins is disappointed.— Miranda Yaver, PhD (@Miranda Yaver, PhD) 1651540939
This is just Alito's draft & in the process of getting 5 votes, opinions can change. Nonetheless, that he's contemplating fully overruling Roe & returning women to 2nd class citizenship is absolutely appalling. No less devastating for knowing it was possibly coming.https://twitter.com/SCOTUSblog/status/1521292458197499904\u00a0\u2026— Joyce Alene (@Joyce Alene) 1651540255
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