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After the leaked Roe opinion, Justice Thomas says the Supreme Court can't be bullied

Close-up of Justice Clarence Thomas during a group photo at the Supreme Court
Erin Schaff
/
The New York Times via AP
Justice Clarence Thomas sits during a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, on Friday, April 23, 2021.

As reproductive-rights protests continue after a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas says the court can't be "bullied" into making a decision that some would prefer.

"We can't be an institution that can be bullied into giving you just the outcomes you want," Thomas told a group largely comprised of lawyers and judges Friday at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Atlanta, NBC News reported. "The events from earlier this week are a symptom of that."

"We are becoming addicted to wanting particular outcomes, not living with the outcomes we don't like," Thomas said.

Thomas, one of the more conservative justices on the bench, made some references to protests against the leaked draft opinion.

A day earlier at the same conference, Chief Justice John Roberts called the leak "absolutely appalling." Earlier this week, the court confirmed the authenticity of the draft published by Politico and Roberts ordered an investigation of the leak.

In a statement issued by the court on Tuesday, Roberts said: "To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way."

The court statement said the leaked draft opinion doesn't represent the court's final position.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Rina Torchinsky

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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