The consequences of the leaked draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade

On Monday, a leaked opinion drafted by the United States Supreme Court indicated that a majority of the court’s justices are prepared to strike down its prior decisions constitutionally protecting a woman’s right to an abortion. The draft opinion was written following arguments in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, one of the most significant challenges to the court’s landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

If adopted as written, the draft opinion, which the court has confirmed is authentic, would overturn almost 50 years of precedent and allow each state to restrict a woman’s access to abortion through legislation.

“One in four women in America get abortions and so the idea that if ‘abortion is illegal we’re going to stop abortion,’ I think is a fallacy. I think what it means is we’re going to stop safe and legal abortions.” — Barbara McQuade, law professor at the University of Michigan and co-host of the “Sisters in Law” podcast

Listen: Former U.S. attorney Barb McQuade discusses the consequences of the leaked draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.

Guest 

Barbara McQuade is a law professor at the University of Michigan and co-host of the “Sisters in Law” podcast. She says the draft opinion fails to grasp the true effect the decision would have on women if adopted.

“When people think about who gets an abortion, they are thinking about single people who are sexually promiscuous and this will get them to stop,” says McQuade. “One in four women in America get abortions and so the idea that if ‘abortion is illegal we’re going to stop abortion,’ I think is a fallacy. I think what it means is we’re going to stop safe and legal abortions.”