Alito made a tiny edit to his abortion opinion that reveals the weakness of his argument

The decision to strike two words may be interpreted as a tacit admission that the history of abortion in the US is not quite so clear-cut as justice Alito suggests.

The US Supreme Court ruling striking down Roe v. Wade is nearly identical to the draft opinion that first leaked in May. But one tiny revision in justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion is worth parsing because it reveals the problems with the interpretation of history proffered by the court’s conservative faction.

In the initial draft opinion, first obtained by Politico, Alito wrote, “Until the latter part of the 20th century, there was no support in American law for a constitutional right to obtain an abortion. Zero. None. No state constitutional provision had recognized such a right.”

In the final opinion released today (June 24), Alito slightly amended his wording: “Until the latter part of the 20th century, there was no support in American law for a constitutional right to obtain an abortion. No state constitutional provision had recognized such a right.”

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