The leadership of Priests for Life reacted to the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that overturns Roe v. Wade and returns regulation of abortion to the states.
Father Frank Pavone, National Director, said: “The leak of this draft opinion in Dobbs strengthens its argument – reflected also in various briefs – that Roe and Casey have distorted other areas of the law and bent or broken longstanding legal doctrines and rules on which the Court has relied in all contexts other than abortion. For decades we’ve called it ‘the abortion distortion.’ And now we come to another manifestation of it regarding the well-preserved confidentiality of the very process by within the Court prepares its decisions.
“Indeed, abortion destroys everything it touches.”
“I have read the draft opinion. Not only does it reverse Roe, it completely obliterates any claim to its Constitutionality, accuracy, and logic. And in regard to Casey, it completely jettisons the ‘undue burden’ standard and returns the court’s standard on abortion to a rational basis review.
“We remain optimistic that the Supreme Court will reverse Roe in the Dobbs case. But Supreme Court decisions are not communicated by leaks, especially those intended to intimidate the Justices. This is a moment when we should pray that the Justices who are ready to reverse Roe will stay the course and not be distracted or deterred. The decision needs to be based on the Constitution, not public pressure or confusion.”
Janet Morana, Executive Director, said: “No matter your stand on abortion, every American should be upset that our judicial system has been undermined. The Supreme Court has always relied on collegiality and trust among the justices and their clerks. A breach like this breaks that trust.
“Of course we are happy the tragic and unjust Roe v. Wade decision might be consigned to history, but everyone should be horrified by the attack on our judicial system.”
Priests for Life is the world’s largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated exclusively to ending abortion. For more information, visit www.EndAbortion.US.