The President has a responsibility to appoint judges who are qualified and who interpret the constitution in accordance with our mainstream principles. It is apparent that Judge Alito is an able lawyer and judge given his experience on one of the finest Federal Appeals Courts in the Nation. However, Judge Alito's record on the bench provides disturbing evidence and raises serious questions as to whether he is out of the judicial mainstream and would prove to be a divisive addition to the Nation's highest court.

Specifically in a 1992 Supreme Court case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Judge Alito supported upholding a law that would require women to obtain a husband's consent prior to seeking an abortion-even in the case of abusive situations. I disagree with his decision and so did the United States Supreme Court on the grounds that it is entirely inconsistent with the existing law under Roe v. Wade.

Justice O'Connor's retirement provided President Bush with a unique opportunity to appoint a person who, like Justice O'Connor, is in step with the mainstream views of this Nation. This appointment also provided President Bush with an opportunity to add to the diverse representation of the Court. Instead, this nomination raises questions as to whether President Bush served an ideological agenda as opposed to a constitutional one. For these reasons, I have grave misgivings in regard to this nomination.