Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade, draft opinion suggests

WASHINGTON - 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. It's unclear if the draft represents the court's final word on the matter.

The authenticity of the draft Politico posted has not been independently confirmed, 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.

Politico cautioned that the draft was written in February, and may have already been re-written.

The United States Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. (Government file photo)

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.

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"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."

Barriers were set up in front of the steps of the Supreme Court Building Monday as authorities anticipated crowds in response to a bombshell report on abortion rights

Protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court on Monday night after the news of the brief was published across the country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.