A US Supreme Court judge has mocked prominent figures from around the world, including Prince Harry and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for ruling against the decision to overturn Roe v Wade .
In what appeared to be his first public comments since the decision was handed down last month, Justice Samuel Alito rejected criticism from the British couple, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The judge, author of the argument to overturn the landmark ruling enshrining the right to abortion in the US, condemned the global figures for taking into account “American law”.
In a speech at a conference on religious freedom in Rome last week, he said: “I had the honor of writing this mandate, I believe, the only Supreme Court decision in the history of this institution that has been criticized by a whole host of foreign leaders, who felt perfectly fine commenting on American law.”
“One of them was former prime minister Boris Johnson, but he paid the price,” he joked, appearing to refer to Johnson’s decision to step down as prime minister following widespread criticism of his leadership since of the Conservative Party.
“But what really hurt me, what really hurt me, was when the Duke of Sussex addressed the United Nations and seemed to compare the decision, whose name may not be spoken, to the attack Russian in Ukraine,” Alito said.
Image: The speech appeared to be Justice Samuel Alito’s first public comments since the decision was handed down last month. Image: AP
Harry described 2022 as a “painful year in a painful decade”, during the July 18 speech.
He said the world “was witnessing a global assault on democracy and freedom,” and pointed to the “horrific war in Ukraine against the rollback of constitutional rights here in the United States” as examples, among other global events.
Johnson, for his part, had criticized the decision as a “big step backwards”. A spokesman for Mr. Johnson’s office had no comment to make.
Harry and the prime minister were far from alone, with Macron tweeting that abortion was “a fundamental right for all women” that “must be protected,” while Trudeau called the decision ” horrible,” saying, “No government, politician, or man should tell a woman what she can and can’t do with her body.”
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Others, including global women’s health groups, also joined the criticism.
“Religious freedom is a fundamental right”
Alito said that “despite this temptation, I will not discuss cases in other countries.”
“All I will say is that ultimately if we are going to win the battle to protect religious freedom in an increasingly secular society, we are going to need more than positive law,” he said.
Alito also praised American efforts to protect religious freedom around the world, saying, “Religious freedom is an international issue, but I think Americans can be especially proud of our country’s contribution to development of a global consensus at least on the level of international agreements in support of this fundamental right”.
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“Religious freedom is under attack in many places because it is dangerous to those who want to have complete power,” he said, adding: “It probably also stems from something dark and deep in human DNA, a tendency to distrust and dislike. people who are not like us.”
Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at protecting access to abortion as part of his administration’s response to the Supreme Court ruling.
Biden said the Supreme Court’s decision was “totally wrong” and “extreme.”
“This was not a decision driven by the constitution,” he said. “The court has made it clear that it will not protect women’s rights.”