Fight looms over court choice

Explaining why the spousal notification should be upheld, Alito wrote that it did not put a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking to end a pregnancy. He said it "merely requires a married woman ... to certify that she has notified her husband."

Alito also emphasized that the requirement would not have great practical effect because most abortions in America are sought by unmarried women and most married women who want an abortion tell their husbands.

When the Supreme Court rejected that view, it said the focus should be on the women who would fall under the spousal notification requirement, not those who would not. The majority said state regulation of abortion has a far greater impact on the pregnant woman's personal liberty than it does on a husband's interests.

Alito's narrow view of court precedent on abortion was repudiated by the high court majority, including Reagan appointees O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy and David Souter, an appointee of Bush's father.

The opinion is likely to be a flash point in of Alito's confirmation hearings, which Reid said could not begin before next year.

On the bench, Alito has also narrowly interpreted the reach of anti-discrimination laws and diminished the ability of aggrieved victims to get into court.

If Alito is confirmed, he would become the fifth Catholic on the court, joining Chief Justice Roberts and Scalia, Kennedy and Thomas. In 1996, the court for the first time in its history was not dominated by a Protestant majority (when Thomas disclosed that he had rejoined the Roman Catholic Church). Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer are Jewish.

Alito's religion was not an issue Monday, but given the religious divisions that have marked the United States, a Catholic majority could be cast as an indication of how far the nation has moved on religious freedom.

---

Contributing: Judy Keen, Kathy Kiely, Mark Memmott.