Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said that it took “courage” to overturn landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade despite very real peril to the safety of the conservative justices at the time.
Alito sat down with CBS News for an interview with the network’s chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford as speculation grew over whether the 76-year-old conservative George W. Bush appointee will soon announce his retirement.
During the interview, Alito was asked if there was one decision in particular that took courage and responded that it would be Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which would overturn the 1973 ruling that stood for nearly half a century.
Prior to the ruling, a draft of the decision was leaked to the media, sending Democrats into a blind rage, with their incendiary rhetoric inspiring activists and mentally unstable leftists to threaten the six conservative justices and their families.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which overturned Roe v. Wade, required “courage” from all of the justices in the majority.
“We didn’t know it when we produced the draft that was leaked, but it required courage… pic.twitter.com/hFfHE6ZZsS
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 2, 2026
“Well, the leading example is Dobbs,” Alito said.
“I think that required courage by all of the justices in the majority,” he said. “We didn’t know it at the time. We didn’t know it when we produced the draft that was leaked, but it required courage to go ahead with that because of the implications.”
“There are others. I mean, there are cases that have resulted in the loss of old friendships; that’s something that you have to live with,” the conservative icon added.
The security threats were so real that he once had to resort to wearing a bulletproof vest.
“It’s part of the job that you’re going to displease people by making decisions on controversial matters because one side or the other is going to really dislike you because of the decisions,” Alito told his interviewer.
“The physical threats and the harassment represent something new in our society and something that’s quite disturbing, and I think it’s a danger,” he added.
Even before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, elected Democrats – including leadership – had whipped up the lunatics into a blood frenzy.
Unhinged: Chuck Schumer threatens Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaughhttps://t.co/D7LkU4Fwf6 pic.twitter.com/35rcQVp3sY
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 4, 2020
Once the memo leaked, they were unleashed, with mobs descending on the neighborhoods of the conservative justices to harass their families and neighbors, all with the implicit sanction of the Democrats and their stooges in the media.
The incitement very nearly led to assassination when one unhinged leftist made a cross-country trek from California but lost his nerve when reaching the Chevy Chase, Maryland home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh on June 8, 2022, mere weeks before the historic ruling overturning Roe.
During the interview, Alito also addressed retirement.
“I thought about it,” he said. “Well, it’s something I think that somebody at my age has to think about every term.”
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