On Wednesday, the chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court called for an investigation after a draft order was leaked showing the court taking up a lawsuit brought forward by Planned Parenthood to declare abortion as a right guaranteed by the state constitution.
The Wisconsin Watch reported that the draft order was leaked. The order stated that the court would hear the case. It was not a ruling on the case itself.
Chief Justice Annette Ziegler issued a statement in response.
“Today the entire court was shocked to learn that a confidential draft document was ostensibly leaked to the press,” Zielger said in a statement. “I have contacted law enforcement to request that a full investigation be conducted.”
She added all seven justices were “united behind this investigation to identify the source of the apparent leak. The seven of us condemn this breach.”
The Wisconsin Watch pointed out that the court has a “liberal majority” (via Wisconsin Watch):
The case offers the court’s four-member liberal majority the chance to issue a potentially broad ruling that could include sweeping protections for access to abortion. The draft order obtained by Wisconsin Watch does not include any concurring or dissenting opinions, leaving it unclear which justices voted for or against accepting the case.
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The lawsuit was filed directly with the state Supreme Court on Feb. 22 by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, two abortion providers and a group of anonymous women who have received abortions. The group argues the Wisconsin Constitution protects both a pregnant woman’s right to have an abortion and a doctor’s right to perform the procedure. The draft order defers a decision whether and how to keep the identities of the women anonymous.
“It is ordered that the petition for leave to commence an original action is granted, this court assumes jurisdiction over this entire action, and the petitioners may not raise or argue issues not set forth in the petition for leave to commence an original action unless otherwise ordered by the court,” the draft order reads.
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This type of scenario surrounding abortion cases has played out before, even this week.
Earlier this week, Townhall covered how a draft opinion of a Supreme Court abortion case was accidentally published online. Bloomberg obtained a copy of the opinion before it was taken down. This draft opinion showed the justices split 6-3, with the majority siding with the Biden administration to force Idaho to provide certain kinds of abortions that violate state law. The final version was published Thursday.
In 2022, the draft opinion from the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked and published by Politico. The opinion showed the justices poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. A month later, the final decision came out, doing just that.
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