After the leaked Roe opinion, Justice Thomas says the Supreme Court can't be bullied

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Justice Clarence Thomas sits during a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, on Friday, April 23, 2021. / The New York Times via AP

As reproductive-rights protests continue after a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas says the court can't be "bullied" into making a decision that some would prefer.

"We can't be an institution that can be bullied into giving you just the outcomes you want," Thomas told a group largely comprised of lawyers and judges Friday at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Atlanta, NBC News reported. "The events from earlier this week are a symptom of that."

"We are becoming addicted to wanting particular outcomes, not living with the outcomes we don't like," Thomas said.

Thomas, one of the more conservative justices on the bench, made some references to protests against the leaked draft opinion.

A day earlier at the same conference, Chief Justice John Roberts called the leak "absolutely appalling." Earlier this week, the court confirmed the authenticity of the draft published by Politico and Roberts ordered an investigation of the leak.

In a statement issued by the court on Tuesday, Roberts said: "To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way."

The court statement said the leaked draft opinion doesn't represent the court's final position.

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