ACLJ: Statement by Supreme Court Nominee Alito on Abortion Should Not Disqualify Him for Seat on Supreme Court

November 14, 2005

(Washington, DC) The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, said today a statement by Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito 20 years ago questioning the constitutional right to abortion should not disqualify him from consideration as an Associate Justice to the high court.  The ACLJ says the fact that Judge Alito called into question the constitutional right to abortion in completing a job application for the Department of Justice in 1985 should not be used against him in the confirmation process.

The fact that Judge Alito criticized the legal underpinnings supporting abortion as a constitutional right should not be used against him in the confirmation process, said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, who is working to support the Judge Alito nomination.   The statement by Judge Alito mirrors that of the late Supreme Court Justice Byron White, who was appointed by President Kennedy, and the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist.  At the same time, the Senate overwhelmingly approved Justices Breyer and Ginsburg after they expressed comments supporting the right to abortion.  Even Justice Ginsburg who supports the right to abortion has questioned the legal underpinnings of Roe v. Wade.  A statement by Judge Alito two decades ago questioning the constitutionality of the right to an abortion cannot be used to disqualify him for a seat on the high court.  The Senate should focus on Judge Alitos judicial philosophy and his 15-year record of service on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.     

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.