It's Your Week: Roe v. Wade and behind the curtains of the nation's highest court
I'm Sallee Ann and welcome to Your Week, our newsletter exclusively for Paste BN subscribers. There's no bigger story this week than Roe v. Wade.
A draft opinion by the Supreme Court leaked Monday night, showing the high court may overturn the landmark decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.
The leak itself was highly unusual, on top of the actual contents of the draft opinion.
The Paste BN team was busy all week covering the angles of this story that matter to you. In this edition, we sit down with Supreme Court reporter John Fritze for a debrief.
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'Nothing short of stunning'
Fritze has covered politics for nearly two decades, but this week's news was unlike any other.
"The fact that the Supreme Court appears to be leaning toward overturning Roe v. Wade, frankly, isn’t a big surprise," Fritze said. "But the fact that the court’s behind-the-scenes deliberations were revealed in a leaked draft opinion this week was nothing short of stunning.
"Associate Justice Samuel Alito’s draft, assuming it reflects the court’s final decision, raises a lot of questions about where the nation goes from here on reproductive rights. But there are also profound questions to be answered about politics, trust and protocol behind the curtains of the nation’s highest court."
In a Paste BN Twitter Space on Roe v. Wade, Fritze emphasized the leaked draft is one opinion that came across at one point in the process. There's reporting there may have been a majority for Alito's draft, Fritze said, but as history shows, dissents can become majority and majority opinions can become plurality. The official decision is expected by the end of June.
[Listen to the full Twitter Space conversation here.]
As we now look ahead to the official decision, it's good to get the basics down.
Our reporters break down what, exactly, Roe covers, how different religious groups define "life," a timeline of how we got here and why other civil rights leaders are worried.
More of our Roe v. Wade coverage:
- Whodunit? Speculation swirls as Supreme Court launches probe into leaked draft abortion opinion
- US could be 'global outlier' if Roe v. Wade is overturned. How do other nations handle abortion?
- Could Roe fire up Democrats the way Joe Biden hasn’t? Maybe, but the GOP would be energized, too
- Opinion: Trump's divisiveness was worth the price to secure what may be the end of Roe v. Wade
- Opinion: I’m a better mother today because I had an abortion when I was 19 and homeless.
Thank you
Thank you for being a subscriber and supporting our journalism. If you have any questions about our coverage or your subscription, my email is always open: salleeann@usatoday.com
I'll have a new, subscriber-exclusive perk to share with you soon that will give you an even deeper connection to the Paste BN newsroom. It's awesome and I can't wait to tell you about it once we've dotted the I's and crossed some T's. Watch this space.
Until then, see you next week!