Sotomayor Says Roe v. Wade Is Established Law (VIDEO)

Judge Sonia Sotomayor declared unequivocally on Tuesday that the right to choose an abortion, as determined by Roe v. Wade, was established as law by the Supreme Court. In the process, the Obama nominee left the clear impression that she would vote to uphold abortion rights should the she be confirmed to the bench.

"The court's decision in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey reaffirmed the court holding of Roe," Sotomayor told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "That is the precedent of the court and settled in terms of the holding of the court."

Earlier in the question and answer session, Sotomayor was pressed to explain her view on the right to privacy, which provides the constitutional basis for the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion rights.

"There is a right of privacy," she replied. " The court has found it in various places in the Constitution.... It is found in the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable search and seizures ... It's also found in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution when it is considered in the context of the liberty interests protected by the due process clause of the Constitution.

Read updates and watch video from today's hearing here and yesterday's hearing here. The full schedule of the hearings is here.

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Comments

[Whatashame]

They numskulls asking her questions.LMAO.

[TaoJonz]

what a fabulous nominee she is......wicked smart, clear, strong. I'm in favor of MANY more women in all areas of governance, and in business. It's just time for the good ole' white boy thing to die.

[yellowdoggie]

You run, TaoJ. I'll vote for ya!

[NickConrad]

Forty-year precedent is precedent. It's the activist who wants to overturn it.

[lisakaz2]

Good for her. No parsing or nibbling necessary!

[citizen of the universe]

I watched that exchange and I believe the words she used was settled law.

[Bloggerrogr]

aka "stare decisis"

[seachild]

she's owning that court room...and they KNOW it...

[LogicNow]

It IS established law and I'm sick and tired of this same old debate every time a justice comes up for nomination. Established law. Precedent set. On the books for what, 40 years now?

[Jamchinadian]

This is all so reftreshing. President Obama himself, and his picks, actually answer questions intelligently. That even applies to his Press Secretary Gibbs. None of the arrogance, obfuscation and spinning of Rumsfeld, Cheney, Gonzalez, Rice, Fleischer, McClellan, Perino, et al.

[GunneraGirl]

Wow! She's great!

[justoverit333]

She's awesome and can definitely hold her own.
wicked smart she is.

[Quislet]

When the people who oppose Roe say that the right to privacy is not in the Constitution, they need to re-read the 9th Amendment.

"Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. "

[HerCabinBoy]

I wouldn't go there so fast.. What else about Roe could be found in the Ninth with the same amount of effort or less as what was found in the 14th?

[1PALady]

I like this lady! Way to go Sonia!

[Ametista]

Thank you Sonia!

[Henry007k]

She’s got bigger balls than 100 other people I can think of.

BTW, I meant that as a compliment.

[Kassandra]

Well, it's not.

[Pimpinnati]

Actually it is. Stop taking it literally and completely out of context.

[RadicalRepublican]

How about this? The woman has aerious pair of ovaries!

[cjk002]

Lighten up.

[yellowdoggie]

Big brass ones! I love her.

[barackobama4prez]

Great answer. "It's the law. What's the problem?"