On Monday night, POLITICO published a draft opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn Roe v. Wade and upend abortion rights in the U.S.
Court watchers have long anticipated the move, which was made possible by Donald Trump’s nomination of three conservative justices.
When finalized and published, the Alito opinion will likely invalidate 50 years of settled law. Republicans, however, are focused on the leak to POLITICO, claiming it’s a severe breach of Supreme Court protocol.
Here’s a roundup of reactions from across the political spectrum:
My statement on the reported Supreme Court decision draft. pic.twitter.com/Kt3bP0kzqU
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 3, 2022
This is the time to fight for women and our country with everything we have. My statement on the Supreme Court decision draft on Roe v. Wade. pic.twitter.com/5tvjOUTmZ2
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) May 3, 2022
Joint Schumer/Pelosi statement: “Every Republican Senator who supported Senator McConnell and voted for Trump Justices pretending that this day would never come will now have to explain themselves to the American people.” pic.twitter.com/YOX3Bulj9z
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) May 3, 2022
Last night’s stunning breach was an attack on the independence of the Supreme Court. By every indication, this was yet another escalation in the radical left’s ongoing campaign to bully and intimidate federal judges and substitute mob rule for the rule of law. pic.twitter.com/wvigWvPqm7
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) May 3, 2022
The reason why the draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked was to put political pressure on the Justices in the majority.
This could be the most grotesque politicization of the Supreme Court in the history of our nation. pic.twitter.com/frDewLOGZS
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) May 3, 2022
Last night’s reports were yet another indication that the Supreme Court seems poised to issue a devastating decision.
We can’t afford to wait. Last month, I brought a lawsuit to the MI Supreme Court to overturn Michigan’s ban and secure the right to abortion for Michiganders.
— Gretchen Whitmer (@gretchenwhitmer) May 3, 2022
Just so we’re clear, banning abortions doesn’t stop abortions — it stops safe abortions.
In New York, we will always protect your right to safe, legal reproductive care. Period.
— Kathy Hochul (@KathyHochul) May 3, 2022
People should take to the streets across the country. Right now, the Senate can pass an exception to the filibuster and codify Roe v. Wade. This is the most dramatic setback for women’s rights in decades.
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) May 3, 2022
Congress must pass legislation that codifies Roe v. Wade as the law of the land in this country NOW. And if there aren’t 60 votes in the Senate to do it, and there are not, we must end the filibuster to pass it with 50 votes.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 3, 2022
People elected Democrats precisely so we could lead in perilous moments like these- to codify Roe, hold corruption accountable, & have a President who uses his legal authority to break through Congressional gridlock on items from student debt to climate.
It’s high time we do it.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 3, 2022
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) May 3, 2022
Millions of Americans woke up to the realization that a constitutional right many have known their whole lives is on the verge of being extinguished. Regardless of the Court’s final decision, we must enshrine into law the right to make one's own reproductive health care choices. https://t.co/7HLh4zjgbn
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) May 3, 2022
“Who this is going to fall hardest on is poor women … women who’ve been raped … and this Supreme Court has said they don’t care … What they care about is imposing their extremist view on the rest of the country.”
— @SenWarren on reported SCOTUS plan to overturn Roe v. Wade pic.twitter.com/Klyzhgyt2B
— The Recount (@therecount) May 3, 2022
Susan Collins: “If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 3, 2022
NEW: Lisa Murkowski, who voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett when Trump specifically said he was nominating justices to overturn Roe v. Wade, just said she “finds it shocking that this would happen” and her “confidence in the court has been rocked.”
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) May 3, 2022
November's election is now the most important of our lifetime to protect women's rights. pic.twitter.com/fWTQKCcY8W
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) May 3, 2022
NEW: We are proposing an amendment to enshrine the right to choose in the California constitution.
We can’t trust SCOTUS to protect the right to abortion, so we’ll do it ourselves.
Women will remain protected here. https://t.co/WTUpfymLS0
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 3, 2022
Big: Senator Joe Manchin just indicated he would not blow up the filibuster to codify Roe, saying he believes the filibuster is a check on power that preserves abortion rights. Without Manchin, the chance of passing Roe into law is pretty much zero.
— Paul McLeod (@pdmcleod) May 3, 2022
Statement on Draft Supreme Court Opinion pic.twitter.com/3GYIF3YnM7
— Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) May 3, 2022
If this is the opinion of the Court, it will be one of the greatest opinions in Supreme Court history. It will save millions of lives
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 3, 2022
As a pro-choice pastor, I’ve always believed that a patient's room is way too small for a woman, her doctor, and the United States government.
I'll always fight to protect a woman's right to choose. And that will never change.
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) May 3, 2022
As a woman, I am enraged by the continued assault on our right to control our bodies + our futures.
As an American, I am appalled by the SCOTUS breach & its implications.
As the next Governor of Georgia, I will defend the right to an abortion and fight for reproductive justice.
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) May 3, 2022
This is unconscionable. The Court is prepared to undo 50 years of reproductive freedom in overturning Roe v. Wade, an outright attack on women’s health.
It’s time to abolish the filibuster & vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act, now. https://t.co/ri89Xyh1eh
— Senator Ben Ray Luján (@SenatorLujan) May 3, 2022
As Americans, we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights: that first among these is Life.
Life is a human right and the Supreme Court of the United States should choose Life! pic.twitter.com/ak7N3ZMtQn
— Advancing American Freedom (@AmericanFreedom) May 3, 2022
If Alito’s majority destroys the right to privacy, states could jail women and doctors for abortion and contraception offenses. They could also COMPEL women to be sterilized for “unfitness” to reproduce, as Virginia sterilized thousands in the last century. See Buck v. Bell.
— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) May 3, 2022
If true, this is a draconian step backward. Lives will be lost b/c radical politicians are taking health decisions out of the hands of women & their doctors.
The choice is clear: Republicans actively taking away reproductive freedoms or Dems fighting like hell to protect them. https://t.co/kZEkz6cEm4
— Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) May 3, 2022
“Most of our young people, they don’t know a life without Roe.”
After sharing her own personal abortion story at a House Oversight Hearing last year, @RepBarbaraLee discusses what this SCOTUS draft opinion leak means for all women.
More: https://t.co/zA8kTT7NG9 pic.twitter.com/lm2jjMoijd— 11th Hour (@11thHour) May 3, 2022
Never Surrender.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) May 3, 2022