On Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts ordered an investigation into the extraordinary leak of an abortion draft implying that the Supreme Court is prepared to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion statewide.
In the high court’s first public remark since Politico published the draft opinion late Monday, Roberts denounced the leak as an “egregious breach of trust.”
“While the paper detailed in yesterday’s reports is authentic,” Roberts said in a statement, “it does not constitute a decision by the Court or the final view of any member on the issues in the case.”
“To the degree that this betrayal of the Court’s confidences was intended to jeopardize the integrity of our activities, it failed. The Court’s work will not be harmed in any manner.””
“I have directed the Marshal of the Court to initiate an investigation into the source of the leak,” he continued.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority judgment, which was leaked in an exceptional breach of Supreme Court protocol, sparking political uproar and protests outside the court.
“We are fortunate at the Court to have a workforce — permanent employees and law clerks alike — who are deeply committed to the institution and the rule of law,” Roberts remarked. “Court staff have a long and illustrious history of maintaining the judicial process’s confidentiality and upholding the Court’s trust.”
“This was a single and egregious breach of that trust, and it is an embarrassment to the Court and the community of public servants who serve here,” Roberts continued.
According to the opinion, which was written in February, a majority of the Supreme Court is willing to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. It’s unclear whether the majority draft opinion is the high court’s final word on the subject.
“Roe was egregiously incorrect from the outset,” Alito wrote in the “Opinion of the Court,” a 98-page original draft.
If the court follows the draft’s lead, states will be able to decide whether to ban or strictly regulate abortions in the future. Since the Roe v. Wade decision nearly 50 years ago, the right to have an abortion up until roughly 23 or 24 weeks has been protected by the federal government under the Constitution.
A case’s votes and opinions aren’t final until a decision is made public. It won’t be until later this spring that a final decision is made.
Barricades were erected outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC, within hours of the opinion being leaked, as demonstrators from both sides poured on the region.