Conservative US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito shrugged off criticism from prominent figures around the world for last month’s blockbuster ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision on abortion rights. In his first public remarks since the decision, which led to several conservative US states to impose abortion bans, Alito dismissed criticism of the decision, which came from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin. Trudo. In addition, Alito took aim at Britain’s Prince Harry, also known as the Duke of Sussex, who addressed the abortion decision in a speech at the United Nations last week. Alito’s previously unannounced speech was delivered July 21 at a conference on religious liberty in Rome hosted by the University of Notre Dame School of Law. The video of the speech was posted online Thursday by Notre Dame. “I’ve had the honor this term of writing, I think, the only Supreme Court decision in the history of this institution that has been criticized by a whole series of foreign leaders who felt very comfortable commenting on American law,” Alito said. “One of them was former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but he paid the price,” Alito joked, referring to Johnson’s plans to resign after criticism of his leadership by Britain’s ruling Conservative Party. “But what really hurt me — what really hurt me — was when the Duke of Sussex spoke at the United Nations and seemed to compare the resolution whose name may not be heard to the Russian attack on Ukraine,” Alito added. sarcastic tone, referring. in his decision overturning the Roe decision that had legalized abortion nationwide in the United States and recognized a woman’s constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy. Alito’s references to the abortion decision, which came during a speech about the importance of religious freedom, were met with laughter from the audience. In Prince Harry’s speech on July 18, he spoke of 2022 as “a painful year in a painful decade” before referring to the war in Ukraine and “the rollback of constitutional rights here in the United States,” which appeared to refer to the decision to abortion. Johnson called the decision “a big step backwards”. Macron said on the day of the ruling that abortion was a fundamental right and that women’s freedoms had been “jeopardised” by the Supreme Court. Trudeau called the decision “terrible.” Liberal Justice Elena Kagan said in a separate appearance in Montana on July 21 that it would be a “dangerous thing for a democracy” if the conservative majority Supreme Court loses the trust of the American public. The court, America’s highest judicial body, has a conservative 6-3 majority that has boldly asserted its authority in the abortion ruling and other recent cases. Polls showed a drop in public approval of the court after the abortion ruling, which limited his term that ended last month. The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today. This content appears as provided to The Globe by the original wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.
