A leaked draft opinion obtained by Politico indicates a possible intention of the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The draft opinion, authored by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, represents a potential decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a suit related to Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban.
Officials believe it’s the first time in modern history that a draft opinion has been published before a case has been decided.
This is merely a draft and could be changed, noted Spectrum News 1 Legal Analyst Rory Riley-Topping, adding that a leak like this is unusual, but not unprecedented.
She said the leak is unusual because the entire opinion was made public.
Should Roe be overturned, abortion would immediately be effectively outlawed in 13 states with so-called “trigger laws”: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
Spectrum News reporter David Mendez contributed to this report.
