1985 Alito memo argues against legalized abortion

Abortion rights advocates and foes argued about the significance of the memo.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
WASHINGTON -- As a Reagan administration lawyer, Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. argued forcefully against the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, saying it "should be overruled."
In a lengthy 1985 memo, Alito -- then an assistant solicitor general -- urged the Justice Department to defend states seeking to put restrictions on the procedure, saying that the Supreme Court's rulings did not mean that "abortion is unregulable." In particular, he wrote, states should have the right to order doctors to inform patients about potential medical risks and alternatives to the procedure.
"If abortion is a woman's choice, as the court has held, then surely the choice should be informed," Alito wrote.
Such state regulations, he continued, are "preferable to a frontal assault on Roe v. Wade" and could eventually lead the court to reconsider Roe itself.
Reactions
Alito's critics, including abortion rights advocates, swiftly denounced the memo, saying it shows the nominee helped lay the groundwork for an attack on abortion rights that continues to this day. Alito's defenders dismissed the import of the memo, saying he was a staff lawyer for a president who was an avowed opponent of abortion.
"The memo shows that Samuel Alito worked in the boiler room as one of the chief engineers of a multitiered strategy to reverse Roe v. Wade," said Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice, a liberal legal advocacy group.
"This memo reflects tactical litigation advice that Judge Alito, writing 20 years ago as a deputy lawyer in the office of the solicitor general, gave to his client, the pro-life administration of President Ronald Reagan," said Wendy Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, a conservative legal advocacy group.
The 17-page memo was among more than 300 pages of documents relating to Alito that were released Wednesday by the National Archives under a request from the Senate, which will vote on his nomination in January.
Documents from archives
The White House has refused to release documents from Alito's service in the solicitor general's office, arguing that they are privileged. But the Roe memo and a second on use of unnecessary force by police were among documents sent to the archives in 1999 on which the Clinton administration waived privilege, and the White House had no authority to restrict their release.
"Internal [solicitor general] office documents are privileged, and you can see why if you look at the ones that are in here," a Justice official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "It can be detrimental to the government's ongoing ability to litigate certain issues."
Police shooting
In the second memo, written in May 1984, Alito criticized a federal court of appeals ruling that held that police officers in Memphis, Tenn., could be sued for using unnecessary force for shooting a 15-year-year-old burglary suspect who was attempting to flee a crime scene.
Alito wrote that judges should defer to local authorities' judgment. "All such rules are based upon difficult moral and philosophical choices and a balancing of values that is peculiarly suited for legislative rather than judicial resolution," he said.
Also on Wednesday, Alito sent the Senate Judiciary committee a more than 200-page response to a questionnaire asking for information on his qualifications and legal experience.