[Skybird]

Drip... drip... drip...

Assume for a moment that this draft opinion becomes the law of the land. In an instant - because of statutes already on the books and "trigger" laws designed for such an occasion - abortion would be illegal in 22 states.

The legality of the procedure would become a vicious political battleground in the midst of an election year.

This is the significance of what may be unfolding in the Supreme Court.

Draft opinions, however, are just that - drafts. And there have been accounts of justices shifting their views as the opinion-drafting process unfolds within the cloistered court chambers. This unprecedented leak short-circuits all that.

For most of US history, the Supreme Court has operated like Mount Olympus, handing down opinions from on high. That opacity has been shattered perhaps for good, as the leaking spreads.

What it will mean for the legitimacy of the judicial process in the US remains to be seen, but within the institution itself it seems safe to assume that all trust between the judges, a collegial group once referred to as "the brethren", is gone.

In an era when political norms have been broken like pottery in an earthquake, another big piece has fallen.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61302740