After Politico reported Monday night that a United States Supreme Court draft opinion signals the end of a federal right to abortions, South Dakota's Republican Gov. Kristi Noem said she would immediately call the state Legislature into session to "guarantee" the right to life of the unborn.
"If this report is true and Roe v. Wade is overturned, I will immediately call for a special session to save lives and guarantee that every unborn child has a right to life in South Dakota," Noem said in a tweet Monday night.
The post comes after Politico reported it had obtained a "draft" majority opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court, authored by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, striking down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion a federal right.
According to the leaked February draft opinion published by Politico, the court will rule 6-3 that "Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision."
The court, instead, will leave the legality of abortion up to the states, "sending it back to the people and their elected representatives" to decide.
According to a report from NPR, 21 states are ready to ban or severely limit abortions once Roe is overturned.
The news outlet said that demonstrators protesting the yet unannounced decision of the court were already gathering in front of the building, calling for the preservation of the 1973 ruling.
Alabama's Republican Gov. Kay Ivey said the leak of the decision was "outrageous."
"This unprecedented leak is concerning, outrageous, and a blatant attempt to manipulate the sacred procedures of the U.S. Supreme Court," she told NPR. "Those responsible should be held accountable. My prayer is that Roe v. Wade is overturned, and that life prevails."
California's Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the decision and promised to "fight like hell" to keep the right to abortion in his state.
"Our daughters, sisters, mothers, and grandmothers will not be silenced. The world is about to hear their fury," Newsom said in the NPR article. "California will not sit back. We are going to fight like hell."
In the draft opinion, the justices acknowledge the potential political firestorm the ruling may have but said it could not factor in the decision they had to make.
"We do not pretend to know how our political system or society will respond to today's decision overruling Roe and Casey [a related 1992 abortion case]," the decision reads. "And even if we could foresee what will happen, we would have no authority to let that knowledge influence our decision."
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