Alito rejected
abortion as a right
By Bill Sammon,
washingtontimes.com from the Web, November 14, 2005
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.
The document, which is likely to inflame liberals who oppose Judge Alito's
nomination to the Supreme Court, is among many that the White House will release
today from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
In direct, unambiguous language, the young career lawyer who served as assistant
to Solicitor General Rex E. Lee, demonstrated his conservative bona fides as he
sought to become a political appointee in the Reagan administration.
"I am and always have been a conservative," he wrote in an attachment to the
noncareer appointment form that he sent to the Presidential Personnel Office.
"I am a lifelong registered Republican."
But his statements against abortion and affirmative action might cause him
headaches from Democrats and liberals as he prepares for confirmation hearings
before the Senate Judiciary Committee, scheduled for January.
"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."
A leading Republican involved in the nomination process insisted that this does
not prove Judge Alito, if confirmed to the Supreme Court, will overturn Roe
v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that made abortion a
constitutional right.
"No, it proves no such thing," said the Republican, who spoke on the condition
of anonymity. "In fact, if you look at some of the quotes of his former
law clerks, they don't believe that he'll overturn Roe v. Wade."
Judge Alito sided with abortion proponents in three of four rulings during his
15 years as a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia,
usually based on existing law and technical legal issues rather than the right
to abortion itself.
"The issue is not Judge Alito's political views during the Reagan administration
20 years ago," the Republican official said. "It's his 15 years of
jurisprudence, which can be evaluated in hundreds of opinions. And in none
of those opinions is it evident what his political philosophy is.
"Ruth Bader Ginsburg had a long history of advocacy on behalf of liberal causes,
but she was evaluated on her 13-year record as a federal judge and her
jurisprudence, not her belief that there was a constitutional right to
prostitution or polygamy."
Although Judge Alito's conservatism has not been particularly evident in his
legal rulings, it was abundantly clear in his job application 20 years ago.
"I believe very strongly in limited government, federalism, free enterprise, the
supremacy of the elected branches of government, the need for a strong defense
and effective law enforcement, and the legitimacy of a government role in
protecting traditional values," he wrote.
"In the field of law, I disagree strenuously with the usurpation by the
judiciary of decision-making authority that should be exercised by the branches
of government responsible to the electorate," he added.
The document also provides the clearest picture to date of Mr. Alito's
intellectual development as a conservative.
"When I first became interested in government and politics during the 1960s, the
greatest influences on my views were the writings of William F. Buckley Jr., the
National Review, and Barry Goldwater's 1964 campaign," he said. "In
college, I developed a deep interest in constitutional law, motivated in large
part by disagreement with Warren Court decisions, particularly in the areas of
criminal procedure, the Establishment Clause, and reapportionment."
Republicans are relishing the opportunity to defend Judge Alito's support for
judicial restraint, saying it puts him squarely in the majority of American
public opinion.
As evidence, they pointed to public outrage over a 2002 ruling by the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that said the phrase "under God" in
the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional. More recently, the Supreme
Court has ruled that government can seize property and give it to a private
party for the sake of the "public good." Other Supreme Court rulings have
cited international law.
"We're delighted to have a debate over judicial philosophy and the proper role
of courts in America," a Republican strategist said. "That's a debate the
Republican Party wins every time."
Republicans also pointed out that Judge Alito's devotion to Reagan
administration policy was reminiscent of those of Supreme Court Chief Justice
John G. Roberts Jr., who also served in the Reagan administration and was
confirmed in September by all Republicans and half the Democrats in the Senate.
"The notion that working for the Reagan administration is a disqualifier for
serving on the Supreme Court was decisively refuted by 78 votes earlier in the
summer when John Roberts was confirmed," said the official close to the Alito
nomination process.
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