McLEAN, Va. – Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says using the courts, rather than elected legislatures, to assert abortion rights is akin to "sneaking it in through a back door."
Scalia is one of the court's most outspoken opponents of the court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that declared a woman's right to an abortion. He repeated his long-held view Thursday that the Constitution is silent on abortion and that judges should stay out of the issue.
The 75-year-old justice calls himself an "originalist" in interpreting the text of the Constitution as it was understood by the people who adopted it. In a colorful attack on those high court colleagues who don't share his approach, Scalia said it's "absolute madness" to allow the nine justices to decide the Constitution means whatever they say.
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