Word: souter
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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WASHINGTON--As New Hampshire's attorney general in 1976, Supreme Court nominee David Souter submitted a brief in which the state argued against paying for Medicaid abortions and referred to abortion as "the killing of unborn children...
...earlier case, argued in 1972 when Souter was the state's deputy attorney general, New Hampshire defended its strict anti-abortion law against a constitutional challenge by arguing: "The maintenance of an unborn child's right to birth is a compelling interest which outweighs any rights of a mother to an abortion except when necessary to preserve her life...
...both cases, the briefs apparently were written by other men and the extent of Souter's personal involvement is unclear. And from neither--one argued before and one after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wadedecision legalizing abortion--is it possible to determine his personal views on abortion, an issue likely to play a major role in his September confirmation hearings...
...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...
...true test of Bush's popularity will be whether the president can see through Souter's nomination while avoiding a floor fight on abortion. If he can, the gift of a Supreme Court nomination will be a valuable one indeed, a gift that could last a political lifetime...