The bombshell leak of a preliminary draft of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade dominates the editorial cartoon gallery this week.
Politico published the text, written by Justice Samuel Alito and signed by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Chief Justice John Roberts condemned the unprecedented leak of a fully formed and footnoted draft opinion, and initiated an investigation to find the leaker.
The 1973 decision legalized abortion in the United States. If the final decision reflects the draft, abortion would be declared illegal immediately in at least 13 states, with more likely would follow, Axios reported.
Editorial cartoonists address both the leak and the substance of the draft ruling. Many artists focused on the potential rolling back of abortion rights, a decades-long project of political conservatives, as damaging the court’s impartiality and legitimacy. Others view the leak as damaging the ability of the court to do its work. The stately Supreme Court building is depicted in ruin or disrepair by Scott Stantis, Bill Bramhall, Joel Pett, Joey Weatherford and A.F. Branco.
Cartoonists also commented on the milestone of 1 million Covid-19 deaths in the United States; inflation’s political implications for President Joe Biden; Elon Musk’s Twitter bid; rumors Biden may cancel student loan debt; senators’ grilling of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over immigration; and the joy of Mother’s Day.
Cartoons were drawn by Nick Anderson, Bill Bramhall, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Scott Stantis, Walt Handelsman, Phil Hands, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and A.F. Branco, Mike Luckovich and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate.
