Pro-life advocates reacted hopefully to the report of a leaked draft opinion within the U.S. Supreme Court that would overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide.

In a stunning development May 2, Politico — a politics- and policy-focused news organization — published a copy of a draft of an opinion by Associate Justice Samuel Alito that would strike down the Roe ruling if it becomes final. A source familiar with the court’s work said four other associate justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — sided with Alito in a conference vote after oral arguments in December, Politico reported in an article that included a link to the draft. They remain united on the opinion as of its report, Politico said.

The opinion leaked apparently from within a court that is highly secretive about its proceedings regarding a Mississippi ban on abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation. The state, as well as the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and other pro-life organizations, had urged the high court not only to uphold the 15-week prohibition contested in the case — Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — but to overturn Roe and the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey opinion that affirmed that decision.

Roe was an “abuse of judicial authority,” Alito wrote in the leaked draft, which included a note that it was circulated Feb. 10 to the other justices. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have inflamed debate and deepened division.”

If the high court overturns Roe and Casey in its final opinion, the ruling would return abortion policy to the states.

In a news release May 3, the Supreme Court confirmed the draft opinion is “authentic,” but “it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.”

In the release, Chief Justice John Roberts described the leak as a “serious and egregious breach” of the trust of the high court. He has ordered the marshal of the Supreme Court to begin an investigation into the source of the leak.

Justices may change their votes before a final opinion is published. Such a reversal reportedly occurred after an initial draft reversing Roe was circulated among the justices in the Planned Parenthood case.

Five justices voted in conference after oral arguments in Planned Parenthood to strike down Roe, and Chief Justice William Rehnquist sent the court’s members a draft opinion in late May 1992 that would have done so, the late Associate Justice John Paul Stevens said in a 2019 memoir, according to The Washington Post. Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy reversed course, however, and joined in a late June ruling that upheld Roe while permitting some state restrictions.

Southern Baptist and other pro-life supporters expressed prayerful hope that the justices in the majority will stand firm in their decision to overturn Roe. They also encouraged followers of Jesus to prepare to aid vulnerable women if the opinion holds.

Ed Litton, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said in a written statement provided to BP, “Christians have sought the end of Roe for nearly 50 years. We must pray now for the resolve of the Court to cement its reversal.

“At the same time, the church must stand ready to love, serve and support women and families in need,” said Litton, senior pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Ala. “Let us thank God for the possibility of seeing the specter of this unjust ruling removed from our nation forever. And let us prepare for the next phase of pro-life ministry.”

Brent Leatherwood, the ERLC’s acting president, described it as “a breathtaking development in every sense of the phrase.”

“Assuming it truly remains a majority opinion — which could still change — it means we are one step closer to ending the Roe-Casey abortion framework that has taken more than 60 million innocent lives, fractured families, marginalized mothers and harmed this nation for nearly 50 years,” he said in written remarks for BP.

“By overturning the Roe-Casey precedents and eliminating the number one factor inhibiting pro-life laws from taking effect, our nation can begin to establish a true culture of life by giving states the freedom to pursue policies that protect pre-born children. Christians should be in earnest prayer for such a moment to be reality.

“At the same time, we must avoid losing sight of mothers who are in a cycle of fear or maybe even in crisis at this moment,” Leatherwood said. “[O]ur words in this moment should not be ones of mere celebration, but also of care. Our care must alleviate their fears and show that the welfare of mother and child do not have to be pitted against one another.”

If the Supreme Court overturns Roe, 26 states are certain or likely to prohibit abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization affiliated with the abortion-rights movement. Nine states have enacted a total of 33 pro-life laws so far this year.

— Tom Strode is Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press.