Many questions for Sotomayor on abortion

0 Comments | USA TODAY, June, 2009 | by Joan Biskupic

WASHINGON -- During her 17 years on the federal bench, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has left no clear footprints revealing where she stands on the right to abortion.

Some Democratic senators, including Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., sought answers this week on Sotomayor's commitment to privacy rights. Meanwhile, activists on both sides of the debate continue to press senators to grill the nominee on her views of 1973's Roe v. Wade, which made abortion legal nationwide, during upcoming confirmation hearings.

Since her nomination by President Obama last week, Sotomayor's scant record on abortion has brought to the fore assumptions about the White House vetting process and questions about how Sotomayor might ultimately vote on disputes over a woman's right to...