Answer the question! Oh, wait. He did.

Redstate makes a point regarding the exchange between Schumer and Alito:

SCHUMER: Does the Constitution protect the right to free speech?

ALITO: Certainly it does. That's in the First Amendment.

SCHUMER: So why can't you answer the question of: Does the Constitution protect the right to an abortion the same way without talking about stare decisis, without talking about cases, et cetera?

ALITO: Because answering the question of whether the Constitution provides a right to free speech is simply responding to whether there is language in the First Amendment that says that the freedom of speech and freedom of the press can't be abridged. Asking about the issue of abortion has to do with the interpretation of certain provisions of the Constitution.

SCHUMER: Well, OK. I know you're not going to answer the question…

Redstate says this:

This exchange was extraordinary if only for the Senator's apparent ignorance of the difference between rights that are written in the Constitution and rights that are interpreted from the Constitution. To help Sen. Schumer and his staff, we provide this link to the First Amendment to the US Constitution, in which the right to free speech is quite clearly stated. Here's a link to the full Constitution, wherein you'll find no mention of abortion. Sorry, but you have to go to the case law for that. Shame on Sen. Schumer. He should know the difference. He's on the Judiciary Committee after all.

I might also add that Alito DID answer the question.