CNN has not independently confirmed the authenticity of the document. Politico says it has ratified the draft. A spokesman for the Supreme Court declined to comment to CNN.
According to the draft, the court will overturn the possession of the federal constitutional right to abortion by Roe v. Wade. The opinion would be the most consequential decision on abortion in decades and would transform the landscape of women’s reproductive health in America.
The publication of the plan by Politico has no precedent for the standards of secrecy of the Supreme Court. Internal debates between judges in drafting opinions and arranging votes are among the most detailed in Washington.
This case is Dobbs v. Jackson. It concerns a challenge to the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban, and oral hearings were held on December 1st. A final opinion on the case is expected later this spring or early summer.
In the draft opinion, Alito writes that Roe “must be rejected”.
“The Constitution makes no reference to abortion and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote. He said Roe was “grossly wrong from the start” and that her reasoning was “extremely weak and the decision had disastrous consequences”.
He added that “it is time to pay attention to the Constitution and return the issue of abortions to the representatives of the people.”
“This is required by the Constitution and the rule of law,” he said, according to the draft.
Almost half of the states already have or will pass laws prohibiting abortions, while others have enacted strict regulatory measures.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
