Top House Republican leaders issued a statement on Tuesday calling for an investigation after a draft of the Supreme Court’s ruling in a Mississippi pro-life case was leaked.
The landmark case has the potential to change the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion on demand in the U.S., returning laws regarding abortion restrictions to individual states.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), and Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) released a statement in response to the unprecedented leak of the Supreme Court’s upcoming opinion.
“Yesterday’s unprecedented leak is an attempt to severely damage the Supreme Court. This clearly coordinated campaign to intimidate and obstruct the Justices of the United States Supreme Court, and its independence in our political system, from upholding the Constitution must be immediately investigated by the court,” the GOP leaders wrote.
Yesterday’s unprecedented leak is an attempt to severely damage the Supreme Court. This clearly coordinated campaign to intimidate and obstruct the Justices from upholding the Constitution must be immediately investigated.
Full statement from @SteveScalise, @RepStefanik, & me: pic.twitter.com/E3ZMvh8447
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) May 3, 2022
“House Republicans are committed to upholding the sanctity of life, and we will continue to fight to be a voice for the truly voiceless. There is nothing more special, extraordinary, and worth fighting for than the miracle of life,” the statement added.
The statement concluded with a call for the resolve of the justices regarding the right to life.
“We pray for the resolve of our Justices and for a decision that protects our most basic and precious right, the right to life,” the statement ended.
Stefanik added in her announcement of the statement that, “House Republicans are committed to upholding the sanctity of life.”
Yesterday’s unprecedented leak is an attempt to severely damage the Supreme Court.
House Republicans are committed to upholding the sanctity of life.
My full statement with @GOPLeader and @SteveScalise 👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/DhWsz0r1J9
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) May 3, 2022
The leak was first published by Politico on Monday evening.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the document, labeled as the “Opinion of the Court.” “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
The leaked draft also shows that Alito called Roe wrong from the start.
“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,” Alito presented in the opinion draft.
On Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice John Roberts issued a statement confirming the validity of the leak.
BREAKING: Chief Justice John Roberts issues statement confirming validity of SCOTUS leak pic.twitter.com/64i90cUbt4
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) May 3, 2022
In a statement from the White House earlier in the day, President Joe Biden affirmed his administration’s commitment to the defense of the 1973 abortion ruling.
“I believe that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental, Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned,” the president’s statement said.