WASHINGTON — Conservative activists and legal experts are calling for the Supreme Court to release its decision on Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in light of the leaked opinion that POLITICO published Monday night.
Judicial Crisis Network called Monday night’s news that the Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark decision “unprecedented,” saying that it merits an “unprecedented response” — that the “Court should release its majority opinion as soon as possible.”
“Obviously no one can actually force the Chief Justice’s hand,” Carrie Severino, of the Judicial Crisis Network, told The Daily Wire, “but he may want to release the opinion early to avoid exposing the Court to further pressure and intimidation tactics that risk undermining the Court as an institution as a result of the draft opinion hanging out there for what could be months.”
This leak has all of the marks of a desperate attempt by the radical Left to corrupt the Court's deliberation process to achieve its end—at any cost.
The unprecedented leak calls for an unprecedented response: The Court should release its majority opinion as soon as possible.
— Carrie Severino (@JCNSeverino) May 3, 2022
Mark Paoletta, the former general counsel for the Office of Management & Budget under President Donald Trump who worked on Justice Thomas’ confirmation, told The Daily Wire that the leak was meant to “intimidate and threaten the conservative justices.”
Given the unprecedented nature of the leak, he said “the court should release this opinion as soon as possible, hopefully this week, and latest next week.”
“Now that it is hanging out there, I don’t think it serves the Court’s institutional interests to wait on issuing the opinion,” he added. “They should issue it as quickly as possible. And if fact not issuing a final opinion would allow the Left to really ramp up this campaign of intimidation and threats to try and force the court to change course, which is exactly why this opinion was leaked.”
March for Life President Jeanne Mancini said late Monday night that the organization would not be commenting on the draft opinion, but noted that March for Life believes “that given the leak the court should issue a ruling as soon as possible.”
“This leak was meant to corrupt the process,” she said. “It is heartbreaking that some abortion advocates will stoop to any level to intimidate the court no matter what the consequences.”
We also believe that given the leak the court should issue a ruling as soon as possible.
This leak was meant to corrupt the process. It is heartbreaking that some abortion advocates will stoop to any level to intimidate the court no matter what the consequences.
— Jeanne F. Mancini (@jeannemfl) May 3, 2022
POLITICO broke the news Monday that the Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark decision, reporting that Justice Samuel Alito had written a draft that is an “unflinching repudiation” of Roe v. Wade.
The draft majority opinion, which is not final, says Roe v. Wade was egregiously wrong. “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
The unprecedented leak has sent shockwaves throughout Washington, with many commentators noting that a draft decision has never been publicly released in the modern history of the court.
“The leak appears to be totally political in nature, not only intended to damage the Court and pressure the justices, but more immediately to incite Democrats to push their laundry list of terrible anti-life ideas, including blowing up the filibuster and attempting to codify abortion violence at the federal level prior to the November elections,” Katie Glenn, Government Affairs Counsel at Americans United for Life (AUL), told The Daily Wire late Monday evening.
On Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts released a statement confirming that the draft document is real, but emphasizing that it did not represent the Supreme Court’s final decision.
“We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce — permanent employees and law clerks alike — intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law,” the chief justice said.
“This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here,” he added, noting that he has “directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.”