The U.S. Supreme Court is seen early Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in Washington.

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen early Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in Washington. 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. Whatever the outcome, the Politico report represents an extremely rare breach of the court's secretive deliberation process, and on a case of surpassing importance.

Credit: AP, Jose Luis Magana

The panel: 

Emma Hurt — Reporter, Axios Atlanta

Stephen Fowler — Political reporter, GPB News

Tamar Hallerman — Senior reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tia Mitchell — Washington reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

 

The breakdown: 

1. Opinion over Roe v. Wade case leaked from Supreme Court. 

  • Politico reported on the leaked the documents.
    • The draft of the opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito and circulated in February. 
      • Georgia native son, Justice Clarence Thomas, joined Alito on the decision. 
      • Donald Trump's three appointees also voted to overturn the 50-year-old ruling.
      • Justices Stephen Breyer, Elana Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor were working on dissents.
  • The Scotusblog on Twitter called the leak, "the gravest, most unforgivable sin."

 

2. What does the potential ruling mean for Georgia?

  • If Roe v. Wade  is reversed, it would not federally outlaw abortion. However, it would shift the power to states.
  • In 2019, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a six-week abortion ban into law.
    • But, the law is being held up in federal court as they await a final decision from the Supreme Court. 
      • The Supreme Court leak comes from a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Mississippi’s ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Emma Hurt explains the effects that overturning Roe v. Wade will have on Georgia's laws.

 

3. Candidates and elected officials weigh in on the new of the leak.

  • The news comes as 13 states are holding primary elections, including Georgia, where early voting is already underway.
  • An AJC poll in January showed about 68% of Georgia voters did not want the decision overturned.
  • Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is running for reelection, has already responded to the news. 

4. Special grand jury seated in 2020 election probe.

 

5. Secretary of state debate focuses on 2020 election results. 

  • On the Democratic side, state Rep. Bee Nguyen is the fundraising frontrunner with more than $1.1 million raised as of the last campaign finance deadline. 
  • On the Republican side, incumbent Brad Raffensperger defended attacks from U.S. Rep. Jody Hice about certifying the 2020 election results. 
  • You can watch the remaining Atlanta Press Club debates on GPB TV tonight. 

 

Wednesday on Political Rewind: 

Emory Law's Fred Smith joins the panel.

Tags: Georgia  NPR  Georgia Politics  Political Rewind  Bill Nigut  Abortion  roe v wade  Stephen Fowler  Supreme Court  Atlanta Press Club Debates