It has been an almost incredible blow to abortion rights and the judicial narrative in the generally perceived fountainhead of democracy. The United States Supreme Court has confirmed that a draft ruling that overturned the right to abortion across the nation had leaked to the news outlet called Politico. Tuesday’s sensational news break has come as a bombshell and Democrats are straining every nerve to respond. It is a setback too to the Head of State; President Biden has in the immediate aftermath vowed to protect abortion rights.

Action, however, has been immediate, judging by the response of the Chief Justice, John Roberts. “I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak which has been an egregious breach of trust.” The draft ruling envisaged sweeping societal changes that had long been sought by Republicans and religious conservatives. The going may not be smooth, however. Voters, as President Biden has emphasized, will need to elect more members of Congress who support abortion rights so that they can pass legislation making Roe vs Wade the law of the land. The 1973 verdict had recognized that the right to personal privacy under the US Constitution protects a woman’s ability to terminate her pregnancy. Democratic-backed legislation to pro- tect abortion access nationally died in Congress this year as the wafer-thin majority held by Mr Biden’s party was insufficient to overcome Senate rules that require a “super-majority” to move forward on most legislation. While Democrats tend to support abortion rights, Republicans are opposed to the legislation. The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, said the most populous US state will propose an amendment to its Constitution to “enshrine the right to choose,” meaning obtaining an abortion. “Do something, Democrats,” was the collective chant of abortion rights protesters as they rallied outside the Supreme Court before dawn against the decision. It will be a triumph for Republicans who spent decades building the court’s 6-3 conservative majority. “If the report is accurate, the Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past 50 years, not just on women but on all Americans,” was the response of two top Democrats, pre-eminently the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate majority leader, Chuck Shumer.

By any reckoning, the leak has been a “lawless action”, to quote the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell. It must be investigated and those responsible punished. The Justice Department must pursue criminal charges, if applicable. Abortion is one of the most divisive issues in US politics and has been so for nearly half a century. A 2021 Pew Research Center poll found that 59 per cent of adults in America believed abortion ought to be legal in all or nearly most cases, while 39 per cent thought it should be illegal in most or all cases. Public attention in the United States is presently riveted to the Supreme Court and the fractured Congress. At stake are the rights of women and the sanctity of the judicial process.