- A report came out that a conservative majority
on the United States Supreme Court
is ready to overturn Roe V Wade
and uproot decades of precedent affirming,
decades of precedent,
affirming a woman's right to an abortion.
- [Narrator] That's Chuck Schumer
speaking about a leaked draft of a court opinion,
originally obtained and reported by Politico.
The draft, which was circulated among Justices in February,
suggests that the court is poised to overturn
the decades old decision on the right to abortion.
Shortly after the leak, the Supreme Court
released a statement confirming the document's authenticity,
but added that it did not represent a decision by the court.
- What we're seeing is a snapshot and it could change,
even though it's written in this very polished way
that makes it look like a final opinion.
- Writing an important legal opinion,
which is going to have an effect on the whole country,
takes a bit of time.
- [Narrator] The leaked draft represents
one step in a process
that can involve months of deliberation.
Here's a look at how the Supreme Court
makes decisions on cases
and how their rulings affect lawmaking in Congress.
Once the Supreme Court accepts a case,
Justices review briefs
and hear oral arguments from both sides.
In December, the court heard oral arguments for
Dobbs V Jackson Women's Health Organization,
a case that considers a state law in Mississippi
seeking to ban abortion after 15 weeks.
As part of the case, the court is considering
whether Roe V Wade should be overruled.
Within days of an oral argument,
the Justices hold a private meeting,
known as the conference,
where they explain their views on a case
and take a straw vote, or a preliminary vote, on the ruling.
The Senior Justice and the majority
decides who writes the court's opinion,
which is a written explanation of what they decided
and the reasoning behind it.
In this case, Justice Samuel Alito
was assigned to write the draft.
- A majority opinion of the Supreme Court
decides what the law is in the United States.
It's the last word when it comes to
interpreting the United States Constitution.
- [Narrator] The majority opinion is the only one
that holds legal weight,
but Justices can write individual opinions
explaining their stance.
Those who agree, but have additional ideas,
can write a concurring opinion.
And those who disagree can draft a dissenting opinion.
Those opinions circulate through the court
and Justices decide whether or not to sign onto them.
This process can last several weeks or months.
During this time, they give feedback on
the wording of the opinion and the document can be edited.
- From people in the majority,
they're gonna be saying what they like,
what they don't like, what they wanna see emphasized,
what they think is going too far,
that kind of thing.
And they'll send notes or corrections.
They'll make suggestions.
Sometimes during that process,
a Justice can lose a majority.
- [Narrator] While it doesn't happen often,
Justices have changed their minds
while the opinion was being drafted.
In 2012, Chief Justice John Roberts
initially voted to strike down the Affordable Care Act,
but ultimately came to see the law as constitutional.
That's what changed the outcome
to a 5/4 vote upholding the statute.
- Things can change up until the last minute, you know,
until the court officially, formally, publicly
releases an opinion, it has not made a decision.
- [Narrator] At least five out of nine Justices
need to sign on to approve the opinion.
The draft is kept completely private until this point.
Then it is released to the public
and treated as constitutional law,
which federal and state legislatures are bound to follow.
- Sometimes when the Supreme Court makes a decision,
there is a reaction and Congress takes some steps
to respond to what the court has done.
- [Narrator] If the draft opinion
in Dobbs V Jackson Women's Health Organization holds,
it will be the rare instance where the court
rescinds a right it previously has recognized.
- What this decision is purporting to do is to
take away a prior Supreme Court decision
recognizing a constitutional right
and that constitutional right restricted
what legislatures could do,
be it state legislatures, or Congress.
- [Narrator] If the majority of Justices
sign onto the opinion, abortion restrictions that have
previously been unenforceable under Roe,
like those in Florida, Texas, and Michigan,
could start being enforced.
Some states could act to
preserve the right to reproductive choice.
Lawmakers in New York and California said that they would
push to amend their state constitutions
to cement existing laws that protect abortion rights.
Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer,
has stated Democrats' intention to codify Roe V Wade
at the federal level,
but any bill faces major hurdles in a divided Congress.
- It is my intention for the Senate
to hold a vote on legislation
to codify the right to an abortion in law.
- If the Supreme Court were to overrule Roe V Wade,
that's a kind of unusual situation.
'Cause you know, it's very hard to think of a time
that the court recognized an individual right
and then took it away.
And then people who still wanted that right
had to enact it legislatively.
- [Narrator] The court has until the end of June
to make a final decision
and experts expect that abortion will be
one of the final rulings before the court takes a break.