Abortion dominates fight to put Roberts into Supreme Court

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article300528.ece

The White House was braced for a fierce battle over confirmation of President Bush's first Supreme Court nominee, which is almost certain to be dominated by abortion. But the initial signs were that, barring surprises, the federal appellate judge John Roberts will be confirmed this autumn by the full US Senate.

Within minutes of Mr Bush's announcement of his candidate - on television on Tuesday evening - pro-choice groups were complaining about Mr Roberts' conservative record, and his co-authorship of an argument submitted to the High Court in 1992.

It declared that Roe v Wade, the benchmark 1973 ruling that legalises a woman's right to an abortion, "was wrongly decided and should be overruled".

Karen Pearl, leader of the Planned Parenthood organisation, said her group had "grave concerns" that those might be Judge Roberts' views today. The pro-choice Naral group staged a demonstration on the steps of the High Court yesterday and urged its members to bombard their state's senators with e-mails opposing the nomination. But, on Capitol Hill, where the decisive struggle will play out, Democrats were more cautious, aware of the broad admiration across the legal world for the skills of Judge Roberts.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article300528.ece