How will justice nominee shape abortion debate?

If confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, John Roberts Jr. would get chances to weigh in on the issue immediately.

By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. Sept. 12, 2005.

Doctors have diverse opinions about abortion, but one thing on which they can agree is that they don't know for sure where U.S. Supreme Court Justice nominee John Roberts Jr. stands on the issue.

In July, President Bush nominated Roberts to fill the seat left open when Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement. Roberts' voting record on many issues, including abortion, is considered to be unknown. It has left conservatives and liberals wondering exactly where he would fall on the political spectrum if confirmed for the bench.

With two abortion-related cases on the Supreme Court's fall docket and others moving through the federal courts, Roberts quickly would have a chance to show where he stands on one of America's hot-button topics.

Joseph DeCook, MD, an ob-gyn in Holland, Mich. and vice president of the American Assn. of Pro Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the association did not have a position on Roberts and his qualifications for the Supreme Court. However, Roberts' thoughts on abortion, whatever they may be, "certainly should not be a constitutional litmus test this way or that way," he said.

Wendy Chavkin, MD, MPH, who serves as chair of the New York-based Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, said she is worried that the court could overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. But she said at this point it's unclear how Roberts would rule.

"There are various hints out there that he may be committed to anti-abortion stance, but we'll have to await the confirmation hearings to see what he'll say in any detail," said Dr. Chavkin, a professor in the School of Public Health and ob-gyn department at Columbia University in New York.