Politico released an opinion drafted by Justice Samuel Alito.

Politico has released an alleged majority opinion penned by United State Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito that expresses the intent of the Court’s conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade was the Supreme Court case that guarantees all United States citizens a federally-protected right to safe abortion procedures. Should the ruling be overturned, it would drastically alter the face of women’s healthcare in the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court appears set to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision which first legalized abortion nationwide, according to a report by Politico https://t.co/h2TRNToLxv pic.twitter.com/3yvWqd77CI

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 3, 2022

“The Constitution makes no reference to abortion and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito writes, adding that the ruling was “egregiously wrong from the start” and that its logic was “exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.”

“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s representatives.”

“That is what the Constitution and the rule of law demand.”

Representatives of the Supreme Court have neither confirmed nor denied the authenticity of the draft, though Politico claims they have independently verified its authenticity.

BREAKING: President Joe Biden says the "stability of our law" requires that the Supreme Court doesn't overrule Roe v. Wade and that he will work to codify the right to abortion following an apparent leak from the high court. https://t.co/jo63ev57lG

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 3, 2022

“This news is simply stunning for the Supreme Court as an institution,” said CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law Steve Vladeck. “Not only is the result it portends – the overruling of Roe and Casey – a shockwave to our constitutional politics, but we have never seen a leak remotely like this from inside the Court, where we’re not just hearing what the result is going to be, but we’re seeing the draft majority opinion in advance. It’s hard to believe that the former doesn’t help to explain the latter, but it’s an earthquake in both respects.”