What John Roberts' role in Texas' abortion case could signal for the future of Roe

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a razor-sharp opinion Friday emphasizing that Texas' abortion law defies Supreme Court precedent and should expose the many state officials who play a key role in the "scheme" to federal lawsuit.

But the chief failed to win a crucial fifth vote for that opinion and found himself dissenting, along with three liberal justices, in a case that cuts to the core of reproductive rights and the court's own authority.

"The clear purpose and actual effect of S.B. 8," Roberts wrote, referring to the Texas ban on abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy, "has been to nullify this Court's rulings."