Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Leading pro-life organizations are disappointed but not surprised that the Senate, yesterday, voted overwhelmingly to approve Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. Sotomayor is an appeals court judge and pro-life groups say she will likely promote abortion once she is on the high court.

The Senate voted 68-31 for Sotomayor with a handful of Republicans joining all of the chamber's Democrats to back her nomination.

"Sonia Sotomayor's record of support for judicial activism and her work for the pro-abortion Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund offer little comfort that she will be a friend to the unborn on the Supreme Court," Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the pro-life women's group Susan B. Anthony List, told LifeNews.com.

"Given what we know about Sonia Sotomayor's own judicial philosophy, including her support of policymaking from the bench," Dannenfelser said she wouldn't be surprised if Sotomayor backs unlimited abortions.

Charmaine Yoest, the president of Americans United for Life, applauded the 31 lawmakers who stuck their necks out against political pressure to approve the first Hispanic to the Supreme Court to promote pro-life values.

"It’s a stunning vote of 'no confidence' in a nominee whose background of abortion advocacy and record of judicial interventionism raise serious questions about her fitness for the high court," she told LifeNews.com.

"The number of senators opposing Sotomayor also sends the message that the next time there’s a vacancy on the Supreme Court, Americans will expect a nominee whose judicial philosophy upholds the Constitution not his or her own political ideology," she added.

Two pro-life members of the House of Representatives also weighed in on the Senate vote.

Congressman Todd Tiahrt of Kansas said he was disappointed that the Senate "agreed to confirm an activist judge who believes it is acceptable to legislate from the bench and inject her personal background as a filter in deciding cases."

"We need justices who will be faithful to the Constitution and offer impartial judgment—not empathy, richness of personal experience, or subjective interpretation of international law," the pro-life advocate said.

Congressman Steve King of Iowa joined his Republican colleague in opposing the confirmation vote.

“Sadly, it is clear that the jurisprudence of Judge Sonia Sotomayor is not the only qualification that placed her on the Supreme Court," he told LifeNews.com. "It is also clear that her judicial activism was a requirement rather than a disqualifier."

"Judicial activism effectively amends the Constitution. The very last nine people on the planet who should be amending the Constitution are Supreme Court Justices," King added.

He promised to watch Sotomayor's opinions carefully and to encourage her to rely on the Constitution for judicial decision-making.

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