WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham is blasting the leak of a draft version of Supreme Court decision on the future of abortion, calling it a "dangerous day for the Rule of Law."
Graham made the remarks less than a day after a draft, which would overturn Roe vs. Wade, was published by Politico, a political news website. U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of the document and has ordered an investigation into how it was leaked.
The draft, written by Justice Samuel Alito, states that there is no federal right to an abortion, that Roe vs. Wade was argued badly, and that the decision on whether abortion is legal is a states issue. President Joe Biden has slammed the draft ruling, calling it a 'radical' decision that would erode other rights.
Graham, a longtime abortion opponent, mostly discusses in his statement his anger about how this document could leak, although he did toward the end address the substance of the opinion.
“It is a sad day for the Supreme Court and a dangerous day for the Rule of Law.
“The radical assault on our institutions and the Constitution itself has reached a new level with the release of a draft opinion on a major issue facing the Court. Whether you are a liberal, conservative or moderate, the integrity of the Court has been compromised by this outrageous act – an affront to the Rule of Law.
“For over two hundred years, the Supreme Court has been able to deliberate and build consensus without its decisions being compromised in this manner. This has been forever changed by this leak.
“In America, the radical Left is hell-bent on reshaping institutions that have stood in the way of the outcomes they desire. They want to pack the Supreme Court to change the current conservative nature of the Court which was achieved through the democratic process. They intend to abolish the Electoral College to shift power away from rural states to large, blue states. They would also have a federal takeover of our state election systems and undermine election integrity. The radical Left is now calling for the end of the Senate filibuster as a response to the draft opinion being released publicly. This only compounds the problem. Why destroy the Senate after this outrage against the Supreme Court’s deliberative process? When it comes to outcomes, the radical Left will do whatever they view as necessary – institutions be damned.
“If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, which I believe was one of the largest power grabs in the history of the Court, it means that every state will decide if abortion is legal and on what terms. That, in my view, is the most constitutionally sound way of dealing with this issue and the way the United States handled the issue until 1973.”
South Carolina passed a law last year that would outlaw abortion after a heartbeat is detected, or roughly six weeks into a pregnancy. That's typically before a woman is aware she is pregnant.
That law was stayed by a lower court and is currently at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on review, but if the Supreme Court decision does happen as expected, that ruling would likely allow South Carolina's law to go into effect.