Alito nomination may be battle over abortion
- Nov 15, 2005
The confirmation of federal appeals court judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court looks more and more like it may come down to a showdown over abortion.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to open confirmation hearings on Alito Jan. 9, with Republican leadership hopeful there will be a floor vote Jan. 20.
President Bush nominated the veteran judge from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals Oct. 31, immediately pleasing social conservatives and eliciting vociferous opposition from abortion rights advocates and other liberals.
Alito, 55, has a reputation for judicial restraint and adherence to the text of the Constitution. As an appellate judge, he has ruled clearly on the pro-life side only once in four abortion-related cases, abiding either by Supreme Court precedent or basing his opinion on administrative law in the other three rulings, according to the National Right to Life Committee.
The Washington Times, however, reported Alito said in a 1985 document that he was “particularly proud” of his work for the U.S. solicitor general supporting the government’s argument before the high court that “the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion.” That report has intensified the opposition against Alito and increased the uncertainty of his eventual confirmation.
Bush announced Alito’s nomination only four days after his most recent nominee, White House counsel Harriet Miers, withdrew from consideration. Alito has been a member of the Third Circuit, based in Philadelphia, since 1990. The President said Alito “has more judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years.”
Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said after the announcement, “The President has once again fulfilled his campaign promise to nominate to our nation’s federal judiciary strict constructionist, original intent jurists of the first rank.”
Bush “has underscored his commitment to the promises he made in both the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns,” Land said. “Colleagues who have worked with Judge Alito describe him as ‘brilliant,’ ‘fair’ and ‘tough,’ three important qualities in a federal judge.”
If confirmed, Alito will replace Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who announced her retirement July 1. O’Connor agreed to stay on the court until her replacement is confirmed. She has been a swing vote during her 24 years on the court, often siding with liberals in abortion and church-state cases.
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