Draft of Alito opinion overturning Roe v Wade Leaked

I published, at ReThinking Foreign Policy the full, 98-page text of a draft opinion leaked to the newspaper, Politico, that completely overturns Roe v Wade.

It is an awful opinion. Unfortunately, it capitalizes on the fact that Roe itself was a poorly thought out and badly written opinion that qualified what should have been absolute; that is the right of a woman, indeed of any person, to the full control of their own person free o government interference.

As Elie Mystal brilliantly points out in his book, Allow Me To Retort, the 4th Amendment should make it clear that a woman has the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure. Surely that must include a woman’s womb, even before her home or locker at work. The 14th Amendment guaranteeing equal protection under law must certainly mean that if someone with male reproductive parts has full control over their reproductive system for the full cycle of pregnancy and birth, then so must a person with female reproductive parts.

But these were not the arguments of Justice Harry Blackmun, who was justifiably praised for his vote and opinion in Roe because Richard Nixon had specifically appointed Blackmun to the Supreme Court to ensure that abortion was not legalized.