NOT BINDING -- Neither Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, if he is confirmed, nor any other justice would be obligated to uphold Roe v. Wade, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told the Associated Press.

In a July 26 interview with AP, Gonzales said Roberts’ comments during a 2003 Senate hearing on his nomination to a federal appeals court would not be binding on him if he were to become a Supreme Court justice. During the hearing, Roberts described the 1973 opinion legalizing abortion as “settled law.” He told senators, “There's nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent.”

Gonzales told AP, “If you're asking a circuit court judge, like Judge Roberts was asked, yes, it is settled law because you're bound by the precedent. If you're a Supreme Court justice, that's a different question, because a Supreme Court justice is not obliged to follow precedent if you believe it's wrong.”

President Bush nominated Roberts, a District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals judge, to replace Sandra Day O’Connor. Though Roberts has yet to address the abortion issue as an appellate judge, most abortion rights organizations are seeking to prevent his confirmation.

Gonzales was considered one of the contenders for the high court nomination that went to Roberts.

According to The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Republican members of the Judiciary Committee would like to begin hearings on Roberts in August, when Congress is in recess. Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, however, would prefer to start the hearings when the Senate reconvenes Sept. 6, the day after Labor Day, The Hill reported.

ABORTION FACTS -- The number of abortions in the United States is at its lowest level since 1976, according to a new study by an abortion rights research organization.

The Alan Guttmacher Institute reported about 1.29 million women had abortions in 2002, as compared to 1.61 million in 1990, according to The Washington Post. Other statistics from the analysis, The Post reported, include:

-- White women who are non-Hispanic obtained about 40 percent of the abortions in the United States in 2002, while black women had 32 percent and Hispanic women 20 percent.

-- Six of 10 women undergoing abortions in 2002 already had children.

-- About 56 percent of women who had abortions are in their 20s, while women between 15 and 19 had 19 percent of the abortions.

-- The number of abortion providers in the country fell by 11 percent to 1,800 from 1996 to 2000.

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