Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences,” Alito wrote in the draft, adding that Roe and a 1992 decision that reaffirmed it have only “deepened division” in society.Īccording to Alito, the right to abortion recognized in Roe must be overturned because it is not valid under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment right to due process.Ībortion is among a number of fundamental rights that the court over many decades recognized at least in part as what are called “substantive” due process liberties, including contraception in 1965, interracial marriage in 1967 and same-sex marriage in 2015. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Constitution protects a woman’s ability to terminate her pregnancy. The Roe decision, one of the court’s most important and contentious rulings of the 20th century, recognized that the right to personal privacy under the U.S. The court confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft but called it preliminary. The court’s 6-3 conservative majority, including Alito, has become increasingly assertive on a range of issues. “The low-hanging fruit is contraception, probably starting with emergency contraception, and same-sex marriage is also low-hanging fruit in that it was very recently recognized by the Supreme Court,” Sepper said.
