“If a dog catches a car, it doesn’t know what to do. We do.”

— Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, quoted by the New York Times.

“Democrats rang alarm bells on Sunday about the likelihood that Republicans would try to restrict abortion nationwide, two days after an interview was published in which Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, said a ban was ‘possible’ if his party gained control in Washington,” the New York Times reports.

“On the Sunday talk shows and in other public statements, Democratic senators said Republicans would not stop at letting the states decide the issue, but would most likely push for federal restrictions. That made it paramount, they said, that the Democratic Party maintain control of the Senate as it tries to codify abortion rights into federal law.”

Politico: “Online providers and groups are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of people requesting abortion pills or seeking information on consultations for the drugs since the draft opinion ending Roe v. Wade was first reported on Monday.”

New York Times: “The sprawling anti-abortion grass-roots campaign is rapidly approaching an entirely new era, one in which abortion would no longer be a nationally protected right to overcome, but a decision to be legislated by individual states.”

“For many activists, overturning Roe would mark what they see as not the end, but a new beginning to limit abortion access even further. It also would present a test, as those who have long backed incremental change could clash with those who increasingly push to end legal abortion altogether.”

Andrew Sullivan: “A healthy political party would thrill at this opportunity — a winning issue where the GOP has gone off the deep end. In the states likely to ‘trigger’ total bans if Roe falls, 43 percent of adults on average say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, while 52 percent say it should be illegal in most or all cases. That’s a highly winnable fight.”

“In states which might re-enact some kind of abortion restrictions, ‘an average of 49 percent of adults say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, compared with 45 percent who say otherwise’ — even more promising terrain for Democrats.”

“The fall will be swift.”

— Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), quoted by ABC News, on the Supreme Court potentially ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed a bill Thursday criminalizing abortion-inducing drugs that are provided via mail, CNN reports.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) was interviewed on Meet the Press by Chuck Todd:

TODD: You’ve just said that you believe life begins at conception. If there is legislation brought to you to ban contraception, would you sign it?

REEVES: Well, I don’t think that’s going to happen in Mississippi. I’m sure they’ll have those conversations in other states.

TODD: But you’re not answering the question.

REEVES: As is always the case with things — well, that’s always the case. There’s so many things that we can talk about.

Washington Post: “For the activists who have fought against enormous odds to elevate the issues of abortion and judicial selection, the sudden turnabout is nearly as shocking as Trump’s election was for McConnell. Interviews with more than two dozen movement leaders, Republican officials and operatives describe a half-century journey that only began to settle over the last decade, as the politics of abortion finally polarized itself as a partisan issue and emerged as a top-tier Republican priority.”

“Abortion rights advocates have also been stunned by the transformation, accusing Republicans of hijacking the courts for partisan and unpopular ends.”

New York Times: Are more precedents next?

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told USA Today that a national abortion ban is possible if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Said McConnell: “With regard to the abortion issue, I think it’s pretty clear where Senate Republicans stand.”

He added: “And if and when the court makes a final decision, I expect everybody will be more definitive. But I don’t think it’s much secret where Senate Republicans stand on that issue.”

Washington Post: “In the aftermath of the leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe, Democrats are working hard to underline for voters which party is dismantling abortion protections and which one is defending them, hoping Republicans pay a price at the polls.”

“But the Democrats’ message also in a sense reflects how powerless they have been in Washington, even when they control the levers of power. They have failed to codify Roe, failed to prevent a conservative judiciary and failed to change the filibuster to enact their agenda.”

“In a nearly hour-and-a-half speech at a political rally in Pennsylvania on Friday night, former president Donald Trump made only a passing reference to the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn a landmark ruling establishing the constitutional right to abortion across the country,” the Washington Post reports.

“Trump’s decision not to opine on the news that dominated headlines this week followed days of Republican reticence to engage on the issue, directing their ire at the leak itself rather than celebrate the draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the pivotal 1973 ruling that legalized abortion.”

A new CNN poll finds 66% of Americans say Roe v. Wade should not be completely struck down, and 59% would support Congress passing legislation to establish a nationwide right to abortion.

Something to watch: “The share of registered voters who say they are extremely or very enthusiastic about voting this fall rose 6 points between the first survey and the second, but that increase is about even across party lines.”

A new Pew Research poll finds 61% of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 37% say it should be illegal in all or most cases.

“If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade this summer, as a recently leaked draft opinion indicates it will, clinic shutdowns across the country could mean that California ends up being home to nearly 30% of all abortion clinics in the U.S., despite having just 12% of its population,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.