Roberts Launches Probe Into Leaked Abortion Draft Opinion

Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday asked the marshal of the U.S. Supreme Court to launch an investigation into a leaked draft opinion that suggests the high court is prepared to strike down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortion legal in all 50 states.

The early look at the court's thinking — which is unprecedented — was published by Politico and shows that a majority of justices will completely nix both Roe and the high court's subsequent ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey , which largely affirmed the right to terminate a pregnancy.

In a statement Tuesday morning, Justice Roberts confirmed that the draft opinion is authentic but said it does not represent a decision by the court or the final position of the justices on the issues of the case.

"To the extent this betrayal of the confidence of the court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed," Justice Roberts wrote. "The work of the court will not be affected in any way."

The chief justice said that those who work with the court have been "intensely loyal to the institution" and have respected the confidentiality of the judicial process.

"This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the court and the community of public servants who work here," the chief justice wrote. "I have directed the marshal of the court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak."

The draft, which was written by Justice Samuel Alito and joined by justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, states, "We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled."

"The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision, including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely — the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment," the draft opinion states.

Justice Alito called the Roe decision "egregiously wrong from the start."

"Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences," he wrote. "And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division."

While not binding until it is published, the leaked opinion provides a window into the high court's thinking. The draft was penned in February and still has the backing of the other four justices, Politico reported, though it is possible that stances could shift before the opinion is expected to be formally published sometime in June or early July.

The three justices appointed by Democratic presidents are dissenting, and it is unclear how Justice Roberts will vote, the outlet added.

In the case at hand, which was argued in December, Mississippi asked the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade , which recognized a woman's constitutional right to obtain an abortion, and uphold a state law that bans the procedure after 15 weeks of gestation. Mississippi's lone abortion clinic, Jackson Women's Health, asked the justices to affirm a Fifth Circuit ruling invalidating the law as unconstitutional.

The case is Dobbs et al. v. Jackson Women's Health Organization et al., case number 19-1392, in the Supreme Court of the United States.

--Editing by Alyssa Miller.

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