WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court
nominee Sandra Day O'Cormor said today she is
opposed to abortion but that her personal views
would not control her votes on the nation's highest
court.
"My own view in the area of abortion is that I'm
opposed to it," O'Cormor told the Senate
Judiciary Committee. But she emphasized her
belief that judges should not let personal feelings
dictate their decisions on constitutional issues.
O'Connor, the first woman ever nominated to
the Supreme Court, sought to explain and defend
votes she cast while a member of the Arizona
Senate from 1969 to 1975 which have been interpreted by political conservatives as "proabortion."
She portrayed those votes as not true reflections on abortion, itself, but on tangential
legislative concerns.
In response to other committee questions,
O'Connor attempted to enhance her image as a
judicial conservative.
"I do well understand the difference between
legislating and judging. . . . As a judge, it is not
my function to develop social policy by means of
making the law," she said.
O'Connor has been a state appeals court judge
in Arizona since 1979, and was a state trial judge
the previous four years.
"I do not believe it is the function of the
judiciary to step in and change the law because
the times or social mores have changed," she
said.
O'Connor promised the senators that, if confirmed as the 102nd member in the high court's
191-year history, her job will be "one of interpreting and applying the law, not making it."
Keeping her poise as senators pressed the sensitive abortion question and inquired about her
legislative career, O'Cormor said, "I have learned two things in my public life; to have a short
memory and a tough skin.''
Such attributes could prove helpful as the prospect of more tough and pointed questions on explosive social issues from conservative senators
appeared likely.
In their respective opening statements in the
first of three scheduled days of confirmation
hearings, several of the committee's 18 members
indicated they would pose such questions - and
said they expected substantive answers.
Sen. Jeremiah Denton, R-Ala., made reference
to a disputed July 7 memorandum which, according to some conservative groups opposing
the nomination, may have distorted O'Cormor's
past views on abortion and the proposed Equal
Rights Amendment to the Constitution.
He said the dispute raised concern about "your
attitudes on such issues (and) ... your credibility."
In her opening statement, however, O'Connor
told the committee she would not divulge how she
would vote on any issue.
"I do not believe that, as a nominee, I can tell
you how I might vote on a particular issues which
may come before the court; or endorse or
criticize specific Supreme Court decisions
presenting issues which may well come before
the court again," she said.
In an apparent effort to soften the opposition to
'her perceived "pro-abortion" votes, O'Cormor
voiced support for the American family. .
In her opening statement, she quoted from a
marriage ceremony she has prepared for use
when she performs civil weddings.
"Marriage is far more than an exchange of
vows. It is the foundation of the family;
mankind's basic unit of society; the hope of the
world; and the strength of our country. It is the
relationship between ourselves and generations
to follow," she said.
The 51-year-old judge made clear that the
ceremony's words reflect her views.
"That statement represents not only advice I
give to the couples who have stood before me but
my view of all families and the importance of
families in our lives and in our country," O'Connor said.