Roe Ruling Leak Prompt's Santa Cruz Rep. To Issue Call To Action

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — A Santa Cruz congressman on Tuesday issued a call to action in response to a majority opinion overturning Roe. v. Wade in a leaked draft – since confirmed by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) said Tuesday on Twitter that the reversal of women's reproductive rights that have stood nearly a half century “makes it clear that we must act now” to protect women’s reproductive rights.

The leaked draft, first reported by Politico, is described by the outlet as “a full-throated, unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and a subsequent 1992 decision — Planned Parenthood v. Casey — that largely maintained the right."

Alito wrote, "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start."

The court's ruling isn't expected until June or July, and the precise wording could change, Politico reports.

A vote to overturn Roe would send abortion access back to the states to decide. At least 26 are certain or likely to ban abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights policy group.

“News of a draft SCOTUS opinion on Roe v. Wade makes it clear that we must act now to protect a woman's right to choose,” Panetta tweeted.

“Congress must send the Women’s Health Protection Act to President Biden’s desk as soon as possible.”

— Patch Editor Beth Dalby contributed to this report