Alito Says Dobbs Required Courage, Warns of Threats

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said the court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade required courage from the justices in the majority, and described physical threats and harassment against judges as disturbing and dangerous. In a CBS News interview with chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford, Alito also said the ruling had cost him friendships, while offering no settled timeline for whether he might retire. Asked to identify a case that demanded particular courage, Alito named Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the decision he authored. The ruling overturned the federal constitutional right to abortion established by Roe and returned authority over abortion regulation to elected officials, largely in the states. Alito said the justices did not anticipate the implications when a draft opinion was leaked, but that proceeding with the decision required courage. Alito said he had lost old friendships over court decisions and confirmed he had lost friends over Dobbs when Crawford asked him directly. He characterized opposition to controversial rulings, including protests and public disapproval, as part of a justice’s work.