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It’s not clear if a draft opinion that suggests the U-S Supreme Court could be set to overturn the 1973 case that legalized abortion is the court’s final word on the matter.  Politico has published what it says is a draft of an opinion in a major abortion case that was argued in the fall.

It in effect states there is no constitutional right to abortion services and would allow individual states to more heavily regulate or outright ban the procedure.  The leak has shocked lawyers and others who watch the court closely, with one comparing it to the leak of the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War.

The draft opinion signed by Justice Samuel Alito states that Roe was — quote — “egregiously wrong from the start.”  A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in about half the states and could have huge ramifications for this year’s mid-term elections.

President Joe Biden says if the U-S Supreme Court decides to overturn the case that legalized abortion countrywide it will raise the stakes for voters in November’s mid-term election.  Biden says he’s going to work to codify the right to abortion into federal law.