Roe to be overturned, leaked decision says
In an unprecedented development, a leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming ruling on abortion indicates not only that the court is poised to overturn its two long-standing decisions protecting the right to abortion but that it is also laying the groundwork to overturn landmark pro-LGBTQ decisions.Politico first reported on the leaked document May 2.On May 3, Chief Justice John Roberts called the dissemination of the draft decision "a betrayal" and said an inquiry would be launched into the source of the leak.
He also stated the document is authentic."Although the document described in yesterday's reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case," Roberts stated.The draft was authored by Justice Samuel Alito, part of the conservative majority on the court.LGBTQ legal experts and others were shocked at the unprecedented breach of Supreme Court tradition of a draft decision being made public ahead of the formal ruling, expected in June or July.
They were also alarmed at the decision and its potential impacts in other areas of the law."LGBTQ people should recognize that we are once again in the crosshairs and that all of our hard-won protections are under serious threat," said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.Others said the country was headed in an uncharted direction."If this really is the judgment of a majority of the Supreme Court," said Jennifer Pizer, law and policy director for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, "we have entered an era of arrogant judicial activism unlike anything this country has seen for a hundred years."Nan Hunter, a veteran of many legal battles for LGBTQ.
