Roberts’ comments come as demonstrations on both sides of the issue have erupted across the country and supporters of abortion rights fear that states in large swaths of the South and the Midwest are prepared to bar the procedure when the court issues a final decision by early July.
“The Constitution makes no reference to abortion and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote. He said the Roe was “egregiously wrong from the start” and that its reasoning was “exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.”
Roberts did not want to completely overturn Roe v. Wade, meaning he would have dissented from part of the opinion, sources tell CNN, likely with the court’s three liberals.
The court has confirmed the authenticity of the draft opinion, but stressed that it was not final and did not reflect the final position of any member of the court. In a statement, Roberts called the leak an “egregious breach” and a “betrayal of the confidences of the Court” and he launched an investigation into the source of the leak.
This story is breaking and will be updated.