Senator Amy Klobuchar on leaked Roe v. Wade draft opinion: "Complete chaos if this goes through"
The bombshell draft opinion published by Politico on Monday that indicates a majority of Supreme Court justices appear ready to overturn Roe v. Wade — the landmark decision establishing the right to an abortion — set off late-night reactions from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. One of those lawmakers is Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who told "CBS Mornings" on Tuesday that there would be "complete chaos" if the court's final decision matched the draft opinion, which was written by Justice Samuel Alito.
"If this leaked opinion is true, they are literally overturning 50 years of precedent with a case that is supported by 80% of the American public, just because they have their own personal political views," Klobuchar said. "And we have no idea what floodgate will be opened on birth control and the like. We have Republican legislators that are talking about a six-week ban on abortion. This is going to be complete chaos if this goes through."
"If you look at what [Alito] says, abortion, the word's not in the constitution," Klobuchar added. "Well, birth control is not in the constitution, and that also uses a similar argument in past cases for a right to privacy. The term 'gay marriage' is not in the constitution. The court has interpreted the constitution to protect these rights for Americans, so that is why this is such a big deal."
The Supreme Court confirmed the authenticity of the document on Tuesday, but said it "does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case." It's possible that justices could change their votes before the final opinion is handed down.
Regardless of the court's final decision, Klobuchar said abortion will be a key issue with voters in the midterm elections and beyond, and predicted women would head to the polls "in numbers we have never seen."
"If this court is going to turn back the clock and take away all the rights that have been considered in well thought out cases, we have basically a revolution going on when it comes to women's rights and people are going to have to go to the ballot box and make that decision," Klobuchar said.
Late-night protests erupted in front of the Supreme Court on Monday, with hundreds of people expressing their feelings about the leaked opinion.
"America does not want to overturn Roe v. Wade," one woman told CBS News.
Klobuchar also told "CBS Mornings" that she believes the decision to have an abortion should be between a woman and her doctors, and said she supports eliminating the filibuster and codifying Roe v. Wade at the federal level to keep the decision out of the hands of local politicians.
"Most women say, 'I would rather have this be a decision between me, my family and my doctor. My doctor. I want this to be a decision between me and my doctor. Not Ted Cruz.' OK?" Klobuchar said. "But that is exactly what the court will be doing by handing it back to elected officials all over the country."
Cruz is one of several Republicans who have been outspoken opponents of Roe v. Wade. On Monday night, Cruz tweeted that "if this report is true, this is nothing short of a massive victory for life and will save the lives of millions of innocent babies."
Nevertheless, he condemned the leak of the document, writing that he was "appalled by the shocking breach of trust posed by this leak."
The leaked draft opinion sent shock waves through the legal community and beyond. Jeff Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, said it's "a tremendously big deal for the court."
"Its significance for the court's legitimacy is impossible to overstate," Rosen said.