Kansans to keep close eye on confirmation hearings

The battle cries from Kansas’ culture warriors were relatively subdued Tuesday after President Bush nominated John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pro-life and pro-choice partisans in the abortion debate said they know little about Roberts and will keep a close eye on his answers to senators during confirmation hearings in the weeks ahead.

“I respect Bush’s choice,” said Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life, which opposes abortion. “The abortion industry, I hope, won’t make a fiasco out of this – but I think they will.”

Peter Brownlie, president of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, issued a statement expressing “serious concern” about the nomination.

“Women deserve access to all reproductive health care options,” Brownlie said. “The Senate should only confirm Judge Roberts if he demonstrates commitment to upholding the principles of Roe v. Wade.”

Roberts, 50, has been a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., for two years. His record on abortion is thin and mixed – he argued to overturn Roe v. Wade while serving the first Bush Administration, but promised to uphold the ruling during confirmation hearings for his current job.

Stephen McAllister, outgoing law school dean at Kansas University, said the confusion over Roberts’ abortion views should help mute any battles over the nomination.

“He’s in some ways right where you’d like a justice to be,” McAllister said. “He’s not publicly committed one way or another, and until he has the case, you don’t want him to be.”

McAllister said he had met Roberts several times, and called the nomination a “home run.”

“He’s just a very intelligent, thoughtful, considerate person,” McAllister said of Roberts. “Even if he’s more conservative than some, he’ll be a fair and impartial judge.”

Phil Minkin, president of the American Civil Liberties Union in Douglas County, said he wants to find out more about Roberts’ stands on civil liberties issues.

“Obviously we didn’t expect to get Thurgood Marshall or (Louis) Brandeis, but I was hoping there would be some move to moderation when replacing a Supreme Court justice,” Minkin said.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., will be a key player in Roberts’ nomination, as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will handle the early round of confirmation hearings.

“I look forward to a full process – a direct vote up-or-down of a majority, not a supermajority – and also really a healthy debate about the role of the courts,” Brownback told the Associated Press after reporters informed him of Bush’s pick.

Kansans for Life and Planned Parenthood officials both said they would rally their supporters as the nomination moves forward. McAllister, though, said the Roberts’ nomination shouldn’t be that divisive.

“There were people the president could’ve nominated who would’ve guaranteed battles,” he said. “John is highly respected among lawyers, judges – everybody who knows him.”