Politico Obtains Draft Opinion Showing Supreme Court Poised To Overturn Roe v Wade

Politico Obtains Draft Opinion Showing Supreme Court Poised To Overturn Roe v Wade

Politico obtained a draft opinion that shows that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v Wade, giving states the power to ban abortion.


The leak of a draft opinion is extremely rare for the court, which has held its proceedings as secret until their rulings are announced.


“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel Alito writes in the draft. Politico also posted the complete draft opinion — which you can read here — which indicates that it was circulated on Feb. 10.


The court’s final opinion is not expected until late June or even early July, near the end of its term when it has traditionally released its rulings in the most controversial cases.

Politico editor-in-chief Matt Kaminski and executive editor Dafna Linzer wrote in a note to the staff on Monday evening that “after an extensive review process, we are confident of the authenticity of the draft. This unprecedented view into the justices’ deliberations is plainly news of great public interest.”

“We take our responsibilities to our readers and our publication with the greatest seriousness. Our obligation, as protected by the First Amendment, is to report the news and inform our audience. Our journalism speaks for itself, and that is no different here.”


A spokeswoman for the court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Neal Katyal, former acting solicitor general, wrote on Twitter that the opinion “appears legitimate.” He compared such a leak to that of the Pentagon Papers in 1971.


“This means that there was a preliminary vote to fully overrule Roe Vs. Wade and that a majority of the court agreed,” Katyal wrote. The justices take a tentative vote after oral arguments, which took place in the case in December.


He added, “It’s possible the court could pull back from this position, but this looks like they voted that way after the oral argument.