'Toxic spectacle': Mitch McConnell slams the leak of Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling draft

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized the leak of a document indicating the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade — the landmark ruling that determined there's a constitutional right to abortion — as a "toxic spectacle."

"Last night's stunning breach was an attack on the independence of the Supreme Court," the Kentucky Republican said in a statement Tuesday morning.

Politico published what it described Monday as a draft ruling from the nation's most powerful court, authored by Justice Samuel Alito and backed by a majority of the court's justices, that would overturn the 1973 Roe decision and let Kentucky and other states outlaw abortion.

USA TODAY couldn't independently verify the document. The Supreme Court isn't expected to issue a final decision on abortion rights until June, and its justices potentially could change their ruling on this particular case.

More: What happens to abortion in Kentucky if the US Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade?

On Tuesday, McConnell pointed the finger at the "radical left" for this highly unusual leak of a high-profile Supreme Court ruling.

"By every indication, this was yet another escalation in the radical left's ongoing campaign to bully and intimidate federal judges and substitute mob rule for the rule of law," he said in his statement.

He suggested "disgraceful" statements President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made after the leak, in which they criticized the draft ruling and how it would massively restrict abortion access in America, "play into this toxic spectacle."

"Real leaders should defend the Court's independence unconditionally," McConnell said.

"This lawless action should be investigated and punished as fully as possible," he said of the leak. "All nine Justices should tune out the bad-faith noise and feel totally free to do their jobs, following the facts and the law where they lead."

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McConnell spearheaded the Senate's confirmation of three Supreme Court justices nominated by former President Donald Trump. The last of that trio, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined the court immediately before the November 2020 presidential election.

Since then, abortion rights activists and other people have said the high court was highly likely to overturn, or at least to seriously weaken, Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to an abortion it established.

If the Supreme Court does strike down Roe, Kentucky could quickly and officially outlaw all abortion services under a 2019 law the commonwealth's Republican-run state legislature passed that would be triggered if Roe is overturned.

The legislature also recently passed new, significant abortion restrictions this year that got national attention and are being challenged in court.

This story may be updated.

Morgan Watkins is The Courier Journal's chief political reporter. Contact her at mwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Mitch McConnell slams Supreme Court leak of draft Roe v. Wade ruling