Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts reportedly tried to stop the nation’s highest court from overturning Roe v. Wade, with his efforts doomed following the leak and publication of a draft opinion that would’ve done so.

CNN’s Joan Biskupic reported on Tuesday that Roberts tried to persuade the conservatives on the court to uphold the 1973 abortion ruling, but a May leak of the draft opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, to overturn it sealed the deal for the right-wing side of the court. In the end, Roe was overturned 5-4, while Mississippi’s abortion law, which was the topic of the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, was upheld 6-3, with Roberts joining the court’s five conservatives.

Biskupic wrote:

Multiple sources told CNN that Roberts’ overtures this spring, particularly to [Justice Brett] Kavanaugh, raised fears among conservatives and hope among liberals that the chief could change the outcome in the most closely watched case in decades. Once the draft was published by Politico, conservatives pressed their colleagues to try to hasten release of the final decision, lest anything suddenly threaten their majority.

Roberts’ persuasive efforts, difficult even from the start, were thwarted by the sudden public nature of the state of play. He can usually work in private, seeking and offering concessions, without anyone beyond the court knowing how he or other individual justices have voted or what they may be writing.

Watch above, via CNN.

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