Late yesterday evening, Politico broke the news that they had obtained a draft opinion of the Dobbs case which indicated that the U.S. Supreme Court had voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. The story linked to a draft written by Justice Samuel Alito. While the draft does in fact appear to be in the style of Alito and the headline reads justices voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, please note that this is not final nor a final vote. To be certain, it is curious at every level!
The Supreme Court of the United States has never experienced a political maneuver of this sort in its history. It is unprecedented for a draft opinion to be leaked to the public. I listened to news reports with shock that a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion had been leaked to the press - then fielded a dozen or more calls and texts seeking assurances of its validity. This political stunt is misguided on every level. This morning I am confident Chief John Roberts will gather the court and demand answer as to which staffer is responsible; the leaker will be identified and fired. The desperation of those who favor legalized abortion is apparent. My concern is that this stunt may be an effort to change sentiment before the final and official report is released.
For background, here is how the SCOTUS methodically operates. The Court's hearing on Dobbs was Tuesday, December 1. (Myself and allies from around the country were there, praying for a favorable hearing.) Next the justices met in conference the following Friday to take a preliminary vote on the case. (With the Solicitor General and AG of Mississippi and 350 of America's top legal brass, we knelt and prayed...and cried out to God to end America's holocaust!) Depending on that vote, the longest servicing justice in the majority would have assigned a justice to write the draft opinion. That would be Justice Clarence Thomas as it appears Chief Justice Roberts might be in the minority.
If the Politico story is accurate, Justice Alito was assigned to draft the opinion. The Alito leaked draft is dated February 10. Since that date, the other justices would have made comments with possible edits to the draft opinion.
Because it is a leaked, first draft opinion, I would caution against premature celebration of what would, no doubt, be a huge victory. If the opinion holds, there will be reason and time to celebrate, but we must take a wait and see approach to this unprecedented development.
The Mississippi’s Attorney General, who argued the Dobbs case, said in a released statement: “We will let the Supreme Court speak for itself and wait for the Court’s official opinion.”
I want to see the actual opinion released by the court before I celebrate. For now, I and others will read and evaluate the 96 page draft opinion and speculate. And pray.
If the court does overturn Roe, and we trust it will, the pro-life movement in Louisiana has to be ready to serve women facing unplanned pregnancy and their babies. We must be ready for this election season to stand together for babies and their mothers. We must be ready for any other court challenge, mischief and perhaps mayhem from the pro-abortion industry and their radical allies.
To God be the Glory...
Gene Mills
President, Louisiana Family Forum
