A draft opinion circulated among Supreme Court justices suggests that earlier this year a majority of them had thrown support behind overturning the 1973 case Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a report published Monday night in Politico.
While it’s unclear if the draft represents the court’s final word on the matter, Illinois politicians are already reacting strongly to the news.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the decision a "violation" of women's rights:
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan said he felt "prayerful gratitude and unbridled optimism" after the report was released:
"While the decision isn't official, and could yet be months away, I'm overjoyed at what could be a generational change in the soul of our country," he said in a statement. "Prayer works, and my prayer tonight is gratitude."
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says that the decision would "set our country back decades," and condemned the report.
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"What we're seeing tonight on Roe v. Wade is a horrendous attack on our fundamental right to choose, and we will fight against it with everything we've got," she said on twitter. "You have my word: I will do everything I can to guarantee your right to an abortion."
Republican Rep. Mary Miller praised the ruling in a tweet.
"'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations,'" she tweeted, quoting Jeremiah 1:5. "Pray for life!"
NBC News has not obtained nor confirmed the draft. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the draft Politico posted, which if verified marks a shocking revelation of the high court’s secretive deliberation process, particularly before a case is formally decided.
The news outlet published what was labeled as a “1st Draft” of the “Opinion of the Court” in a case challenging Mississippi's ban on abortion after 15 weeks, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The Supreme Court has yet to issue a ruling in the case, and opinions — and even justices’ votes — have been known to change during the drafting process. The court is expected to rule on the case before its term is up in late June or early July.
The draft is signed by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court's 6-3 conservative majority, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft opinion states.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” it adds, referencing the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey that affirmed Roe’s finding of a Constitutional right to abortion services but allowed states to place some constraints on the practice. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
The draft opinion in effect states there is no Constitutional right to abortion services and would allow individual states to more heavily regulate or outright ban the procedure.
Politico said only that it received “a copy of the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court’s proceedings in the Mississippi case along with other details supporting the authenticity of the document.”
