The Supreme Court has released a draft majority opinion from Chief Justice John Roberts, which includes a notation that it was circulated among the justices on Feb. 10. If adopted, it would rule in favor of Mississippi in the closely watched case over Mississippi’s attempt to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the draft opinion and ordered an investigation into the disclosure. The draft opinion runs 98 pages and includes citations to previous court decisions, books and other authorities. The Supreme Court is considering a decision to overturn the 1973 Roe decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which would overturn a decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that found the Mississippi law ran afoul of Supreme Court precedent by seeking to ban abortions before viability. A George W. Bush appointee, Alito, argues that the 1973 abortion rights ruling was an ill-conceived and deeply flawed decision that invented a right mentioned nowhere in the Constitution and unwisely sought to wrench the contentious issue away from the political branches of government. Alito’s draft ruling would overturn a decision by the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that found the Mississippi law ran afoul of Supreme Court precedent by seeking to effectively ban abortions before viability. Alito’s draft opinion overrules Roe and Casey’s decisions to regulate or prohibit abortion, using caustic rhetorical flourishes and mocking the majority opinion in Roe. He skewers the “viability” distinction between fetuses not capable of living outside the womb and those which can, and describes doctors and nurses as “abortionists”. Justice Clarence Thomas used the word “abortionist” 25 times in a solo dissent.