Roe v. Wade Attorney Will Likely Oppose Samuel Alito Over Abortion 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 10, 2005
Columbus, OH (LifeNews.com) — The attorney who took Norma McCorvey’s interest in getting a divorce and turned it into the nation’s landmark decision legalizing abortion says she will probably oppose the nomination of Samuel Alito because of his position against abortion.
Sarah Weddington said Wednesday after a speech at Ohio State University that she is still studying his rulings but expected to announce her opposition to him.
"At this point, I will assume I will eventually come out against him," she told students. "The question we have to ask is, would we want to live in an America he would envision?"
Weddington is concerned about a 1991 appeals court decision in which Alito voted to uphold a group of Pennsylvania pro-life laws limiting abortions. One of the laws allowed husbands to know whether their wives were considering having an abortion of their child — something polls show 70 percent of Americans support.
Alito would replace outgoing pro-abortion Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who voted to overturn that law.
Wedding said O’Connor and her position in favor of abortion, would be missed.
"We will really miss her," Weddington said, according to an Associated Press report. "We honor Rosa Parks because she refused to give up her seat for a white man. Let’s ask Sandra Day O’Connor to do the same."
Weddington was referring to efforts by the National Organization of Women to encourage O’Connor to reconsider her decision to retire, something not expected to happen.
Weddington also told the students she now wishes she had picked a different client to use to advance abortion. She pointed to McCorvey’s 1995 decision to become pro-life and her subsequent lawsuit seeking to overturn Roe.
Abortion will likely be a hot topic for debate and discussing during Alito’s confirmation hearings in the Senate in January. He’s already been asked about it by senators during their private meetings. He told them he respects Supreme Court precedent but would not commit to upholding the 1973 decision which ushered in an era of more than 44 million abortions.
