Justice Alito: The Reference to Liberty in the 14th Amendment Did Not Create a Right to Abortion

TRANSCRIPT:

ALITO: "I think in some instances, as I said, it provides a clear answer. I know this is very controversial, but I thought it was perfectly clear that the reference to liberty in the 14th Amendment adopted in 1868 did not mean that there is a constitutional right to abortion. In 1868, abortion was illegal in most of the states. And so it is unthinkable that those states would ratify an amendment that rendered their own laws unconstitutional and then continue to have those laws on the books for decades after that. So, although that was a controversial decision and an important one, I think their original wasn’t provided a clear answer."