On Tuesday, NBC’s Today show was in full panic mode after news broke Monday night of a leaked draft opinion from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito suggesting that the high court was prepared to overturn Roe vs. Wade. The network morning show decried the “bombshell” news and lined up reactions from a series of Democrats and pro-abortion activists to preemptively condemn the potential ruling.
“Breaking news. Bombshell, the Supreme Court poised to strike down Roe vs. Wade. That according to an unprecedented leak of the Justice’s draft opinion overnight,” co-host Hoda Kotb proclaimed at the top of the show. She then warned viewers: “A decision, while not yet final, would alter the nationwide battle over abortion.”
A soundbite ran of Planned Parenthood Action Fund executive director Kelley Robinson wailing: “This leaked draft means that our deepest fears are coming true.”
As the broadcast began, fellow co-host Savannah Guthrie fretted: “This is shocking, unprecedented, to be holding a Supreme Court draft opinion, leaked....a draft opinion that suggests the Court is ready to overturn Roe vs. Wade.” She melodramatically added: “That is a decision that would end 50 years of abortion rights in America.”
Kotb noted that “the news began to ripple across the country overnight” and mentioned: “Some applauding it, others denouncing it, with protesters on both sides quickly gathering outside the Supreme Court.” However, the coverage that followed was far more slanted in favor of those denouncing the news.
Guthrie worried: “If the Roe v. Wade decision is, in fact, overturned, abortion appears likely to become illegal in roughly half of all U.S. states.”
In the first report, justice correspondent Pete Williams talked about how “the blockbuster story” in Politico “shows the Court overturning Roe v. Wade in a blistering ruling.”
In the second report, White House correspondent Kristen Welker promoted congressional Democrats bemoaning the possible upcoming decision:
In a joint statement, Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accusing some of the conservative justices on the bench of lying during their confirmation hearings about their willingness to overturn Roe. Adding, “If the report is accurate, the Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past fifty years – not just on women but on all Americans.”
She then teed up a clip of Planned Parenthood president Alexis McGill Johnson: “We’ve never lost a constitutional right. And it is absolutely outrageous.”
Welker at least briefly cited a statement from “the group Susan B. Anthony List, which opposes abortion rights,” that read, “We wholeheartedly applaud the decision.”
However, moments later, she was back to quoting leftists: “If the high court does overturn Roe vs. Wade, over 20 states are poised to immediately ban abortion according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, making it almost certain the fight over Roe v. Wade will be a major issue in the upcoming midterm elections.”
A clip ran of Democratic Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar melting down: “It makes the election for the House and the Senate more important than any we’ve seen in our lifetime when it comes to the protection of women’s rights.”
Welker concluded: “...this will be a new flashpoint in the midterm elections, with Democrats bracing for the possibility of big losses. The question is, will they find a way to re-energize key voters with this issue and will Republicans find a way to use the issue to build on their momentum?”
Following that report, Guthrie brought back Williams, along with former Stephen Breyer clerk and Obama Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, who launched into yet another left-wing tirade:
It’s just devastating to read....five justices, after they heard oral argument in the Mississippi case in December, adopted the most...full-throated opposition they could, which is to fully overrule Roe vs. Wade and uphold the Mississippi law, which has no rape or incest exception. So that can now be the law in all 50 states....This draft opinion looks like it was written by Robert Bork, the failed nominee in 1988. It is as extreme an opinion as the conservative legal movement has been agitating for, for decades.
Earlier on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Katyal confessed: “Honestly, I wanna cry. You know, I wanna cry in so many different ways.”
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Here is a transcript of excerpts from the May 3 coverage:
7:00 AM ET
HODA KOTB: Breaking news. Bombshell, the Supreme Court poised to strike down Roe vs. Wade. That according to an unprecedented leak of the Justice’s draft opinion overnight. A decision, while not yet final, would alter the nationwide battle over abortion.
KELLEY ROBINSON [EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND]: This leaked draft means that our deepest fears are coming true.
And a stunning breach that raises many questions.
SEN. JOSH HAWLEY [R-MO]: It is plainly meant to corrupt the process within the Court.
KOTB: This morning, complete coverage on the fallout, the reaction, and the immediate demands for a full investigation.
(...)
7:02 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: This is shocking, unprecedented, to be holding a Supreme Court draft opinion, leaked. This is the Mississippi abortion case, oral arguments heard in December, but this is a draft opinion that suggests the Court is ready to overturn Roe vs. Wade. That is a decision that would end 50 years of abortion rights in America.
KOTB: Yeah, the news began to ripple across the country overnight. Some applauding it, others denouncing it, with protesters on both sides quickly gathering outside the Supreme Court.
GUTHRIE: If the Roe v. Wade decision is, in fact, overturned, abortion appears likely to become illegal in roughly half of all U.S. states. But, we should point out, an official ruling from the Court is not expected to come until late June or early July. The question is whether things could change in the next few months.
(...)
7:04 AM ET
PETE WILLIAMS: The blockbuster story broke overnight on the Politico website, reporting that a draft of the Supreme Court’s opinion shows the Court overturning Roe v. Wade in a blistering ruling. Politico says the draft was written by Justice Samuel Alito and says, quote, “The inescapable conclusion is that the right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the nation’s history and traditions.” And it quotes him as writing, “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s representatives.”
(...)
7:07 AM ET
KRISTEN WELKER: Overnight hundreds gathering at the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. Protesters erupting there after the dramatic report. In a joint statement, Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accusing some of the conservative justices on the bench of lying during their confirmation hearings about their willingness to overturn Roe. Adding, “If the report is accurate, the Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past fifty years – not just on women but on all Americans.”
While some Republicans focusing on the explosive leak.
SEN. JOSH HAWLEY: I think this is plainly an attempt by the left to try and change the outcome in this case and corrupt the process.
WELKER: The president of Planned Parenthood speaking out overnight.
ALEXIS MCGILL JOHNSON [PRESIDENT AND CEO OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD]: We’ve never lost a constitutional right. And it is absolutely outrageous.
WELKER: While the group Susan B. Anthony List, which opposes abortion rights, said, “We wholeheartedly applaud the decision.” If the high court does overturn Roe vs. Wade, over 20 states are poised to immediately ban abortion according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, making it almost certain the fight over Roe v. Wade will be a major issue in the upcoming midterm elections.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR [D-MN]: It makes the election for the House and the Senate more important than any we’ve seen in our lifetime when it comes to the protection of women’s rights.
WELKER: So what are people actually saying about this? Well, an NBC News poll in August found that a majority of Americans, 54%, said abortion should remain legal. And you can expect, as I just said, this will be a new flashpoint in the midterm elections, with Democrats bracing for the possibility of big losses. The question is, will they find a way to re-energize key voters with this issue and will Republicans find a way to use the issue to build on their momentum?
(...)
7:09 AM ET
NEAL KATYAL [FORMER CLERK FOR SUPREME COURT JUSTICE STEPHEN BREYER]: It’s just devastating to read. It’s only a draft opinion. It’s possible the Court could change its mind. But what this draft opinion says is that five justices, after they heard oral argument in the Mississippi case in December, adopted the most full throated opinion – full-throated opposition they could, which is to fully overrule Roe vs. Wade and uphold the Mississippi law, which has no rape or incest exception. So that can now be the law in all 50 states.
(...)
7:11 AM ET
KATYAL: I mean, there is a world in which we don’t know how Chief Justice Roberts is going to vote in this case. But Chief Justice Roberts is kind of irrelevant at this point. There’s Justice Alito plus four justices to the right of the Chief Justice who’ve signed on to this tentative opinion. So even if Chief Justice Roberts’s vote is in play, unfortunately his vote doesn’t matter. He’s lost the Court. This draft opinion looks like it was written by Robert Bork, the failed nominee in 1988. It is as extreme an opinion as the conservative legal movement has been agitating for, for decades.
(...)
