High Court nominee tells Senate panel that she personally opposes abortion

WASHINGTON-Judge Sandra O’Connor began what seems certain to be a smooth sail toward Senate confirmation as the first woman Justice on the Supreme Court. I~ the first of three scheduled days of hearmgs before the Senate Judiciary Com mittee, Mrs. O’Connor maintained that she personally opposes abortion and strongly re spects the family. . The 51-year-old Arizona appeals court Judge cautiously fielded questions about her iudicial Philosop~y: She lar.i:elv avoided controversy, often givmg a rote recitation of her understanding of current law without expressing her views of the law. Asked early on in the hearings about her stand on abortion, Judge O’Connor said she opposes it “as a matter of birth control or otherwise.” . • Respect for Famllies In her own opening statement, she went out of her way to show her respect for the importance of families and family life. / Reading a portion of a standard marriage ~erem?ny she has used as a judge, she said: Marriage is far more than an exchange of vows .. It is the foundation of the family, it’s mankmd’s basic unit of society, it’s the hope of the world and the strength of our coun try.” She then introduced her husband John, a Phoenix lawyer, and her three sons.’ Her comments on abortion and on the f~ilf apparently were aimed at blunting cntJc1sm of her record on abortion by rightto-life groups that charge that she was in fa vor of abortion during four years as an Ari zona state senator. A handful of anti•abor tion demonstrators picketed