Pelosi targets Trump, McConnell in statement slamming draft opinion overturning Roe

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday targeted former President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in a statement slamming the draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, writing that the top Republicans “have assaulted privacy, precedent and the Constitution.”

“This monstrous draft decision is a sweeping and severe restriction of Americans’ rights. With it, Trump, McConnell and Republicans in Congress have assaulted privacy, precedent and the Constitution,” Pelosi wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

The comments from the Speaker come less than 24 hours after Politico published a draft Supreme Court opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, that said the rulings in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey do not have grounds in the Constitution and should be overturned.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that while the document is “authentic,” it does not reflect the final decision from the bench. The court is examining a Mississippi law that bans virtually all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Democrats, however, are sounding the alarm, denouncing the draft opinion and advocating for efforts to safeguard abortion rights on the federal level.

Pelosi on Tuesday said nixing the nearly 50-year precedent set by Roe v. Wade would lay the foundation for Republicans “to obliterate even more of our freedoms,” and called Alito’s argument “alarming and extremist.”

“As drafted, Justice Alito’s argument — that women are not entitled to basic human rights today because they have been denied those rights for generations — is alarming and extremist,” Pelosi wrote. “This draft ruling offers a dangerous blueprint for future assaults on some of our most cherished rights, which are rooted in the long-held constitutional right to privacy.”

The Speaker said “radical” justices elevated to the bench by Republican presidents are “eviscerating women’s fundamental freedom to full reproductive care,” adding that their actions are “poised to inflict unthinkable suffering on tens of millions of families across our country, especially in communities of color and low-income communities.”

“The Republican assault on Roe v. Wade is the latest manifestation of their decades-long disrespect of women.  Democrats respect women and their freedom,” she added.

Pelosi also commented on the ramifications for the court if the final ruling is the same as the draft opinion, writing that overturning the longtime precedent could “seriously erode the legitimacy” of the bench.

“In brazenly ignoring 50 years of its own precedent, the United States Constitution and the will of the American people, this draft ruling would seriously erode the legitimacy of the Supreme Court in the eyes of the American people,” the speaker wrote.

She vowed further action if the court goes through with nixing the 1973 ruling.

“Upholding the rule of law and maintaining the faith of the people require that the Court allow Roe to remain the law of the land,” Pelosi wrote. “If instead the Court chooses to terminate Roe, Democrats will not relent in fighting back against the dire threat posed to women’s health, safety and well-being.”

The Hill reached out to Trump for comment on Pelosi’s statement.

When reached for comment, McConnell’s office referred The Hill to comments the minority leader made about the draft opinion earlier on Tuesday, which largely focused on the unprecedented leak.

McConnell called the leak of the draft opinion “lawless action,” and said it “should be investigated and punished to the fullest extent possible.” He also said the Department of Justice should pursue a case if a crime was committed.

Pelosi issued a joint statement with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) late Monday night, writing that if true the bench “is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past fifty years – not just on women but on all Americans.”

The top Democrats also mentioned Trump and McConnell in that statement.

“The party of Lincoln and Eisenhower has now completely devolved into the party of Trump,” Pelosi and Schumer wrote. “Every Republican Senator who supported Senator McConnell and voted for Trump Justices pretending that this day would never come will now have to explain themselves to the American people.”