Bill Richardson Would Only Appoint Pro-Abortion Judges to Supreme Court 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 25, 2007
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson says he has a litmus test when it comes to appointing judges: they must be pro-abortion. The New Mexico governor made the statement on Friday at a forum at Drake University while campaigning in Iowa, the site of the first presidential caucuses.
Calling Roe v. Wade "settled law," Richardson said he would not nominate anyone for the Supreme Court who favored overturning the 1973 case that allowed virtually unlimited abortions.
Richardson also said he would not "dance around" abortion when questioning potential nominees, according to a Des Moines Register report.
"I know that I am going to upset some people," Richardson said.
"I would say [to potential Supreme Court nominees], ‘Do you believe that Roe v. Wade is settled law?’ If they say yes, they have a good chance of being picked. If they say no, I will not pick them," he explained.
The governor also said he would ask nominees whether they support a "right of privacy."
He said he has such strong views on the appointment of judicial picks because selecting judges for the nation’s highest court is the "biggest legacy of a president."
"We’re already paying for the Bush legacy with these last few decisions on privacy and choice" he said of the decision by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to vote to uphold a ban on partial-birth abortions. President Bush appointed them both.
‘‘I would put men and women on the court who would shape policy for a generation,’’ he warned.
Richardson has a long-standing record supporting abortion and he compiled only an 8% pro-life voting record on 79 roll call votes on pro-life issues during his tenure in Congress, according to National Right to Life.
During the 2004 presidential elections, he lent his support to the launch of a NARAL fundraising campaign that collected more than $25 million to elect pro-abortion presidential nominee John Kerry.
Richardson also supports embryonic stem cell research which involves the destruction of human life.
Last November, he said he wanted the New Mexico state legislature to force taxpayers to spend millions of dollars promoting the unproven science. He said he wanted to spend $10 million in state funds to make the University of New Mexico a leader in the controversial field.
