GOP congressional hopefuls for 8th District address leak of Supreme Court abortion decision
Candidates in the Republican primary for the 8th Congressional District seat addressed on Tuesday the leak of a draft Supreme Court ruling that would overturn the Roe v. Wade decision which has made abortion legal across the nation for nearly half a century.
Participating in an online interview with the Daily Herald were candidates Chris Dargis of Palatine, Peter Kopsaftis of South Barrington and Phillip Owen Wood of Carol Stream. Fellow candidates Karen Kolodziej of Itasca and Chad Koppie of Gilberts were invited but did not attend.
The 8th District seat currently is held by Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg.
"I don't think it came by surprise to anyone," Wood said of the draft ruling. "The president referred to it in his State of the Union address that (Roe v. Wade) was under attack. Planned Parenthood has been planning on it.
"A couple years ago, even in 2019, Illinois started to repeal laws," he continued.
"So the states have been working on it at the state level, and I really think it needs to stay at the state level."
Kopsaftis sought to establish what is known for certain and what isn't.
"First of all, this is a leaked document and it is not the final document," he said. "So, therefore we don't know of its truest origin and we don't know the final.
"Secondly, I am pro-life and I believe that the decisions should be going to the state and taken away from the federal government," Kopsaftis added.
Dargis agreed.
"I'm pro-life as well, but I'm also pro-law," he said. "And ultimately Roe v. Wade is bad law. It's not rooted in the Constitution. And if this leaked document is accurate, it strikes me that it is the right decision and to return this issue back to the democratic process where it's been frozen out for the last 50 years."
Dargis argued that the leak itself should not be overlooked.
"It's an attack on the integrity of the Supreme Court and the integrity of the judicial process," he said. "And frankly, having just gone through the last 4½ years hearing from the left in this country about attacks on the institutions and traditions of this country and attacks on democratic process in this country, I just find this unconscionable for it to be almost celebrated and expected on the left. This is just a horrible thing that undermines the judicial integrity and should never have happened, and I hope the FBI gets to the bottom of it."
Chief Justice John Roberts has ordered an investigation into the leak. So far, it remains unknown who is behind it.
The winner of the June 28 Republican primary will in November face the winner of the Democratic primary, in which Krishnamoorthi is being challenged by Junaid Ahmed of South Barrington.
Though its borders are shifting for the 2022 elections, the 8th District will remain roughly centered in Schaumburg and include areas of northwest Cook, northeast DuPage and northeast Kane counties.