Leaked draft abortion ruling a major blow to Supreme Court, experts say

The leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn the constitutional right to abortion is a major breach of confidentiality that has heightened the stakes in an already politically-charged case, experts say.

Politico on Monday night published a draft majority opinion that it had obtained striking down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which guaranteed the right to abortion nationwide. It was a sign that the court’s 6-3 conservative majority was ready to flex its muscle.

While the substance of the draft sparked praise from anti-abortion conservatives and Republicans and condemnation from abortion rights advocates and Democrats, many court watchers blasted on the leak itself as a rare if not unprecedented occurrence.

They predicted chaos inside the court and unpredictable consequences, whose longstanding tradition of confidentiality and trust surrounding its deliberations helps lend the institution its remove from the political branches of government.