The Supreme Court leak of the Roe decision has already galvanized both sides on the issue. And as has been expected, neither side will give any quarter nor ask for any.

The prolifers have the ball. Now that the horse has left the barn it is possible the decision could come out early. If so, most Republican governors will be ready to act. Those in blue or purple states will be more reticent. But this response will be typical.

“If this report is true and Roe v. Wade is overturned, I will immediately call for a special session to save lives and guarantee that every unborn child has a right to life in South Dakota,” South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem said on Twitter.

“I hope that #SCOTUS returns the question of abortion where it belongs: the States,” Texas AG Ken Paxton said on Twitter. “This is why I led a 24-state coalition in support of MS’s law banning them after 15 wks. I’ll [continue] to ensure that TX protects the unborn & pray for the end of abortion across our nation.”

The Republicans will be hot on the trigger and the message will be to let voters decide and embrace democracy. Democrats and the left, never fond of democracy, will sound like the never-ending fit of a teenage girl denied access to the family liquor cabinet.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said, “This leaked opinion is horrifying and unprecedented, and it confirms our worst fears: that the Supreme Court is prepared to end the constitutional right to abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade.”

Center for Reproductive Rights CEO Nancy Northup commented, “If #SCOTUS overturns #Roe it will be an unjustified, unprecedented stripping away of a guaranteed right that has been in place for nearly five decades…it would be “the most damaging setback to the rights of women in the history of our country.” What absolute gibberish. Every state can decide the issue. No power is being stripped from any prochoice state.

In fact, states with Democrat legislatures have passed laws codifying abortion in case Roe gets officially overturned. Governor Jared Polis, D-Colo., signed a law creating a “fundamental right” to abortion and denying any rights whatsoever for unborn children. In 2019 Andrew Cuomo signed a law codifying abortion and explicitly removing protections from unborn infants. So the Dems are ahead of the power curve on this issue themselves.

What do the American people think? “When it comes to the direction of government policy, there has been consistency and consensus in American public opinion on the issue of abortion over the decades,” Dr. Barbara Carvalho, director of a recent Marist Poll on abortion.

“Most Americans (71%) said that abortion should be restricted to the first three months of pregnancy (22%) or in other limited circumstances such as rape and incest (28%), to save the life of the mother (9%) or not at all (12%). Only 17% of Americans said abortion should be available during an entire pregnancy and 12% said it should be restricted to the first six months.”

But the Democrats won’t mention that in this debate. All you will hear is that the expected decision on abortion is a combination of the fall of the Roman Empire, the Black Plague, and Covid on steroids. Republicans will counter with representative democracy. It will be interesting.