Documents Reveal More About Alito's Views

Filed at 12:33 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As a Reagan administration lawyer in 1985, Samuel Alito made clear his hope that the Supreme Court would one day overturn a landmark ruling that established abortion rights.

But Alito, now a Supreme Court nominee, argued against an all-out assault on the Roe v. Wade ruling, fearing such an assault would fail. Instead, he recommended a policy of ''mitigating its effects'' by trying to persuade justices to accept state regulations on abortions.

While working as an assistant to the solicitor general, Alito called for the office to help defend provisions of the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act, some of which had been overturned by a panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists v. Thornburgh.

Alito wrote in the memo, which was released by the National Archives on Wednesday, that ''no one seriously believes that the court is about to overrule Roe v. Wade. But the court's decision to review these cases nevertheless may be a positive sign.''

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