Prince Harry mocked by US judge for denouncing Roe vs Wade ruling

Samuel Alito - Susan Walsh/AP
Samuel Alito - Susan Walsh/AP

The Duke of Sussex has been mocked by a Supreme Court Justice after he apparently compared the overturning of Roe vs Wade to the war in Ukraine.

The Duke used his speech at the UN last week to criticise the "rolling back of constitutional rights here in the United States" as part of a "global assault on democracy and freedom".

Samuel Alito, a conservative judge who wrote the ruling which overturned long-standing abortion rights in America, has now singled him out alongside world leaders Boris Johnson and Justin Trudeau for voicing their opinions.

Speaking at a conference on religious liberty in Rome, he said: "What really wounded me was when the Duke of Sussex addressed the United Nations and seemed to compare the decision, whose name may not be spoken, with the Russian attack on Ukraine."

He added: "I had the honor this term of writing I think the only Supreme Court decision in the history of that institution that has been lambasted by a whole string of foreign leaders who felt perfectly fine commenting on American law."

The event was hosted by the University of Notre Dame Law School.

The Duke’s comments came as part of his speech to the United Nations on Nelson Mandela Day, which the Duchess of Sussex watched from the audience.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images

Summing up the state of the world as he saw it, he referred to: "Climate change wreaking havoc on our planet, with the most vulnerable suffering most of all.

"The few, weaponising lies and disinformation at the expense of the many.

"And from the horrific war in Ukraine to the rolling back of constitutional rights here in the United States, we are witnessing a global assault on democracy and freedom – the cause of Mandela’s life."

The Duchess had already given an insight into Prince Harry’s views on the Roe vs Wade decision, using her own interview with Gloria Steinham on the topic to say the reaction in her house had been "guttural", with her "feminist" husband equally despairing.

She said: "It tells us that our physical safety doesn’t matter, and as a result that we don’t matter. But we do. Women matter."