TOLEDO, Ohio — A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report released Monday.
A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states and could have huge ramifications for this year's elections. But it's unclear if the draft represents the court’s final word on the matter — opinions often change in ways big and small in the drafting process.
Ohio lawmakers are reacting to the news:
U.S. SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OHIO)
BROWN STATEMENT
“This is exactly where we feared that decades of politicians’ attacks on women’s health would lead, and why it’s so important people speak out now. Overturning Roe would take away women’s most personal decisions and hand them over to politicians. We don’t know whether this opinion will become the court’s decision, but we need to act now and pass legislation to protect Americans’ right to make their own private health care choices.”
U.S. REP. MARCY KAPTUR (D-TOLEDO)
“For nearly half a century, the law of the land has acknowledged that there is no more personal decision than that of pregnancy. I am deeply concerned by the ongoing attempts to roll back women’s rights and disregard established precedents that could impact the fundamental freedoms of many. If the Supreme Court were in fact to overturn Roe v. Wade, it would further invite state legislatures with partisan agendas to interfere in one of the most important and private decisions a woman can make. Women and their doctors – guided by faith, family, and circumstance – must be allowed to make these difficult decisions. In an already polarized and divided nation, politicians and the Court must stay out of the way.”
OHIO REP. LISA SOBECKI (D-TOLEDO)
“I am disgusted and appalled by the draft decision that would blatantly disregard nearly 50 years of legal precedent in an effort to strike down Roe v. Wade. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, it will return our country to a dangerous past where women died in alleys because they lacked access to safe reproductive healthcare. The fight to protect the right to control our own bodies is not over.”
U.S. REP. TIM RYAN (D-NILES), CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE
U.S. SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OHIO)
“The leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion is an egregious breach of trust and a deliberate attempt to undermine the faith we place in our nation’s most sacred institutions. This further underscores the need for our country to put our political differences aside and work to restore this faith and trust in our institutions. I am encouraged that Chief Justice Roberts has ordered an investigation and hope the Court can identify the individuals responsible and hold them accountable.
“Regarding Roe v. Wade, I have consistently said I believe Roe was wrongly decided and that the elected representatives in the states, not the Supreme Court, should have jurisdiction over this issue.”
JOSH MANDEL, REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE
J.D. VANCE, REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE
NAN WHALEY, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR
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