Politics- Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said her "confidence" in the Supreme Court has been rocked.
- Murkowski — who voted for both Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch — is among the few Senate Republicans to support
abortion rights.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said on Tuesday that her "confidence" in the Supreme Court has been rocked after a leaked draft opinion suggests that the constitutional right to abortion would be overturned by conservative justices on the court — two of whom she voted to approve.
Murkowski, who is among the few Senate Republicans who support abortion rights, made the comments to reporters on Capitol Hill in the wake of the bombshell
The decision — if finalized — would throw out the constitutional right to an abortion.
"Roe is still the law of the land. We don't know the direction that this decision may ultimately take, but if it goes in the direction that this leaked copy has indicated I will just tell you that it rocks my confidence in the court right now," the Alaska senator said.
—Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) May 3, 2022
Murkowski voted to approve Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Barrett during her confirmation hearings refused to give her position on abortion rights, saying instead that she would consider precedent when making a decision.
Gorsuch, meanwhile, said during his hearings before the Senate that previous Supreme Court precedent deserves "quite a lot" of respect.
"A good judge will consider it as precedent of the US Supreme Court worthy as treatment of precedent like any other," he said. But he wouldn't rule out overturning Roe v. Wade.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft opinion, which was obtained and published in full by Politico on Monday. The draft, penned by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, called the 1973 decision to enshrine a right to abortion "egregiously wrong from the start."
"It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives," the draft continues.
Chief Justice John Roberts said he had ordered an investigation into how the opinion was leaked to the press.
Murkowski condemned the leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion as an "absolutely reprehensible" act, the Associated Press reported.
"I really find it shocking that this would happen," said Murkowski, adding, "I understand it is unprecedented."