Word: connore
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...Bush gets his way, Souter will follow the lead of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and refuse to take a firm stand on such a specific issue during confirmation hearings. If the Democrats settle for this non-answer, they would save the Senate from a bloody floor fight but would incur the wrath of pro-choice activists everywhere. This could be lethal for Democrats and pro-choice Republicans alike...
Peregrinations such as these have made O'Connor a moving target for antiabortion forces, who are determined to see her provide the decisive fifth vote to overturn or at least neutralize Roe v. Wade. Their goal is to send before the court a succession of laws that will chip away at her ill-defined middle ground, until it is too narrow to stand...
Though she has been unwilling to overturn Roe altogether, O'Connor has voted in favor of several state laws that would restrict abortion. She wrote in a 1983 decision that she could accept such limitations so long as they were not "unduly burdensome" to a pregnant woman. That left open a big question: Just what burdens would the Justice consider too heavy? "This legal fight over abortion is like a game of stud poker," says Roger Evans, an attorney for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "Each decision forces Justice O'Connor to turn over one more card revealing what...
...game has been played for higher stakes since the Webster case last year, in which the court gave states wider latitude to restrict abortion. O'Connor's position was more decisive -- and uncomfortable -- than ever. She voted in favor of the Missouri statute under review (which forbids the use of state funds for abortions). But she balked at the opportunity to let history record that the Supreme Court's first woman was also the one who provided the crucial vote to end abortion rights. "There will be time enough to re-examine Roe," she wrote, "and to do so carefully...
...that no amount of pressure will persuade O'Connor to overturn Roe altogether. As a result, pro-life groups are urging state legislatures to pass laws that will meet her "undue burden" test, placing crippling restrictions upon abortion without making it illegal. After examining O'Connor's opinions, the National Right to Life Committee last year drafted eight model laws for consideration by states, each designed for maximum appeal to her. "We are trying hard to avoid sending O'Connor tough cases," says Burke Balch, an attorney for the group. "We want the most moderate legislation possible that will still...