Public figures across the political spectrum have had their say following reports the US Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision that legalised abortion across the United States.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called it "one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history", while former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said "this decision is a direct assault on the dignity, rights and lives of women, not to mention decades of settled law. It will kill and subjugate women even as a vast majority of Americans think abortion should be legal. What an utter disgrace."
A leaked initial draft majority opinion suggests the US Supreme Court will vote to overturn the Roe v Wade decision that legalised abortion nationwide, US news outlet Politico reported on Tuesday.
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the draft independently. If correct it would be an unprecedented disclosure of a draft Supreme Court opinion.
The Supreme Court and the White House declined to comment.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the draft opinion which is dated 10 February, according to Politico.
Four of the other Republican-appointed justices – Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — voted with Mr Alito in the conference held among the justices, the report added.
"It is possible there have been some changes since then [10 February]," Politico reporter Josh Gerstein, who broke the story, said on MSNBC late on Monday, local time.
After an initial vote among the justices following the oral argument, one is assigned the majority opinion and writes a draft. It is then circulated among the justices.
At times, in between the initial vote and the ruling being released, the vote alignment can change. A ruling is only final when it is published by the court.
In a post on Twitter, Neal Katyal, a lawyer who regularly argues before the court, said if the report was accurate it would be "the first major leak from the Supreme Court ever".
The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, heard oral arguments in December on Mississippi's bid to revive its ban on abortion starting at 15 weeks of pregnancy, a law blocked by lower courts.
According to the Politico report, it appeared based on December's oral argument that a majority was inclined to uphold Mississippi's abortion ban and that there could be five votes to overturn Roe.
The that the right to personal privacy under the US Constitution protects a woman's ability to terminate her pregnancy.
The Supreme Court in a 1992 ruling called Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v Casey reaffirmed abortion rights and prohibited laws imposing an "undue burden" on abortion access.
Mississippi asked the justices to overturn the Roe and Casey rulings.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said on Twitter that New York will "always guarantee" the right to abortion.
"This is an absolutely disgraceful attack on our fundamental right to choose, and we will fight it with everything we've got," Ms Hochul said on Twitter in a reaction to Politico's report.
Political figures have their say
"The Republican-appointed Justices' reported votes to overturn Roe v Wade would go down as an abomination, one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history." Mr Pelosi and senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said.
Ms Clinton called it an "utter disgrace".
"This decision is a direct assault on the dignity, rights, & lives of women, not to mention decades of settled law. It will kill and subjugate women even as a vast majority of Americans think abortion should be legal. What an utter disgrace," she said.
Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren said: "An extremist Supreme Court is poised to overturn #RoeVWade and impose its far-right, unpopular views on the entire country. It's time for the millions who support the Constitution and abortion rights to stand up and make their voices heard. We're not going back — not ever."
According to Democratic New York governor Kathy Hochul, "This is an absolutely disgraceful attack on our fundamental right to choose, and we will fight it with everything we've got. Let me be loud and clear: New York will always guarantee your right to abortion. You have our word."
Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez expressed a similar sentiment.
"As we've warned, SCOTUS isn't just coming for abortion — they're coming for the right to privacy Roe rests on, which includes gay marriage + civil rights," she posted on Twitter.
According to National Women's Law Center: "The language in the draft opinion leaked from the Supreme Court is outrageous, irresponsible and shocking. Any Justice who signs onto this opinion is fuelling the harm and violence that will happen to people who become pregnant in this country."
Republican senators have spoken in the favour of the proposed change.
"Roe was egregiously wrong from the beginning & I pray the Court follows the Constitution & allows the states to once again protect unborn life," Republican senator Tom Cotton said.
According to Republican senator Josh Hawley: "The left continues its assault on the Supreme Court with an unprecedented breach of confidentiality, clearly meant to intimidate. The Justices mustn't give in to this attempt to corrupt the process. Stay strong."
The American Civil Liberties Union also expressed its opinion on the matter.
"If the Supreme Court does indeed issue a majority opinion along the lines of the leaked draft authored by Justice Alito, the shift in the tectonic plates of abortion rights will be as significant as any opinion the Court has ever issued," the union said.
