House Speaker Nancy Pelosi(D-Calif.) slammed the US Supreme Court on Sunday for a draft ruling denoting the possible reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that upholds American women's right to abortion, saying it "slapped women in the face" as it diminishes their power to decide for their families.
In an interview with "Face of the Nation," Speaker Pelosi said that the issue is "about something so serious and so personal and so disrespectful of women," per CBS News.
"Here we are on Mother's Day, a week where the court has slapped women in the face in terms of disrespect for their judgments about the size and timing of their families," she said.
Overturning a Landmark Decision on US Reproductive Health
Written by Justice Samuel Alito and circulated among the justices in February, the draft opinion calls Roe v. Wade "egregiously wrong." If finalized in June, it would overrule that landmark decision and 1992's Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which reaffirmed Roe.
The draft also said states could not enact regulations that impose an undue burden on a woman's right to an abortion before fetal viability.
The Supreme Court acknowledged the draft opinion was authentic but noted it doesn't represent a decision by the court or the final position of any of its members.
Pelosi's remarks came days after Politico disclosed a draft Supreme Court opinion in which a majority of justices voted to reverse Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court has certified the leaked document was "genuine," but stressed that it was not the high court's final ruling.
In anticipation of the Supreme Court overturning the almost 50-year-old rule, Democrats on Capitol Hill are hurrying to adopt legislation codifying Roe v. Wade. In September, the House passed legislation, but Senate Republicans rejected it in February.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) has stated that the bill will be voted on next week. However, the initiative is unlikely to succeed, as per a report from The Hill.
Some Democrats, including California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), are becoming upset by the lack of federal movement on abortion rights.
The Supreme Court Cannot Be 'Bullied'
In response to protests of reproductive-rights advocates, US Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas says the court cannot be intimidated into making a ruling that favors the preferences of some.
"We can't be bullied into giving you just the outcomes you want," Thomas told a group of mostly lawyers and judges at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Atlanta on Friday, per NBC News.
The happenings after the controversial leakage of the high court's draft ruling are "a symptom" of such concern, according to the 73-year-old justice.
"We are becoming addicted to wanting particular outcomes, not living with the outcomes we don't like," the associate justice said.
According to NPR, Chief Justice John Roberts described the leak of the draft opinion as "absolutely appalling" at the same conference.
The leak sparked a political whirlwind, with pro-abortion activists holding rallies outside the courtroom and around the country and an internal conflict at the country's highest court, which is probing the origin of the extraordinary leakage.
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