Alito downplays 1985 anti-abortion statement News
Alito downplays 1985 anti-abortion statement

[JURIST] In a meeting Tuesday with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) [official website], Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito [official profile; JURIST news archive] distanced himself from a 1985 statement [PDF text; JURIST report] in which he asserted his belief that the constitution does not guarantee a right to an abortion. The statement was made while Alito was applying for a position with the Attorney General's office during the Reagan administration and was first reported after it was discovered in one of the 100 pages of documents on Judge Alito released by the Reagan and George H.W. Bush presidential libraries. According to Feinstein, in Tuesday's meeting Judge Alito stated that at the time he made the statement he was "an advocate seeking a job," whereas now he is a judge who has served 15 years on the bench. Further, he stated that he does not give heed to his personal views when interpreting the law. AP has more.

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