Americans Back Samuel Alito for Supreme Court as Senate Hearings Begin

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jan 9, 2006   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Americans Back Samuel Alito for Supreme Court as Senate Hearings Begin Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 9, 2006

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A new poll conducted by the Washington Post finds Americans still support the nomination of Samuel Alito to replace pro-abortion Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as the Senate begins its first day of hearings.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll found 53 percent of Americans say Alito should be confirmed to sit on the Supreme Court, which is about the same umber of people who supported the nomination of John Roberts to be Chief Justice on his first day of hearings.

Just 27 percent oppose Alito’s nomination and the rest are undecided.

The survey also found most Americans don’t think Alito will vote to reverse the Roe v. Wade decision that ushered in an era of nearly 45 million abortions.

According to the poll, 38 percent expect Alito to vote in a manner that would not significantly alter Roe, 26 percent say they expect Alito to generally favor more restrictions on abortion, and 18 percent believe he would join the pro-life justices and overturn the much-criticized decision.

Meanwhile, grassroots lobbying and television commercials from pro-abortion groups haven’t created an outpouring of opposition to Alito. The media poll found 40 percent of Democrats, for example, support his nomination while 39 percent oppose it.

Even people who declare themselves liberals oppose Alito’s bid for the high court by just a 44-38 percent margin.

On the other hand, 76 percent of Republicans back the nomination of the appeals court judge and just under half of those who say they are independents support Alito as well.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll surveyed 1,001 Americans from January 5-8 and has a 3 percent margin of error.