Speaking before a packed auditorium, Scalia said he was 
    saddened to see the U.S. Supreme Court deciding moral 
    issues not addressed in the Constitution, such as 
    abortion, assisted suicide, gay rights and the death 
    penalty. He said such questions should be settled by 
    Congress or state legislatures beholden to the people. 

    "I am questioning the propriety - indeed, the sanity - of 
    having a value-laden decision such as this made for the 
    entire society ... by unelected judges," Scalia said.

    "Surely it is obvious that nothing I learned during my 
    courses at Harvard Law School or in my practice of law 
    qualifies me to decide whether there ought to be, and 
    therefore is, a fundamental right to abortion or assisted 
    suicide," he said.

    Scalia also railed against the principle of the "living 
    Constitution," saying it has led the U.S. Senate to try 
    to appoint so-called politically "moderate" judges 
    instead of focusing on professional credentials and 
    ability.

    "Now the Senate is looking for moderate judges, 
    mainstream judges. What in the world is a moderate 
    interpretation of a constitutional text? Halfway between 
    what it says and what we'd like it to say?" he said, to 
    laughter and applause.