Not surprising, but still worth knowing:
Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, wrote that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion" in a 1985 document obtained by The Washington Times."I personally believe very strongly" in this legal position, Mr. Alito wrote on his application to become deputy assistant to Attorney General Edwin I. Meese III.
"It has been an honor and source of personal satisfaction for me to serve in the office of the Solicitor General during President Reagan's administration and to help to advance legal positions in which I personally believe very strongly," he wrote."I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."
So much for respecting Roe. Precedent, my ass.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Shocker: Alito says there is no right to abortion.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/2843
That bit about help to advance legal positions in which I personally believe very strongly is also very revealing. So, here we have a nominee with a history of lying to the Senate reassuring Senators that he respects Roe.
I think this nominee is one scary SOB and we need to do whatever it takes to bork him.
Of course abortion wasn't written into the Constitution. Neither was freedom of speech, nor the right of women to vote. The glory of the Constitution is that we can bring it up to date and correct its oversights.
I do, however, think Alito would overturn women's suffrage if given the opportunity. Or at least make sure she ran her vote by her husband first, since only married women would be allowed to vote in Sammy land.
Ugh.