Judge O’Connor backs ’73 Ruling on legal abortion

WASHING TON – Sandra O’Connor was quoted Wednesday as saying that whatever her personal views are, she believes Supreme Court justices should follow existing high-court rulings – including one that legalized abortion. In a 1973 decision, the Supreme Court said abortion is covered by privacy rights guaranteed under the Constitution. In her second day of a &0mewhat frenetic tour among the powerful of Washington, Judge O’Connor met with President Reagan and various members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Sen. Charles Mathias Jr., R-Md. Reagan and Mathias joined Senate leaders in predicting easy Senate confirmation of Judge O’Connor to become the first woman Supreme Court justice. The soft-spoken judge met five Republican senators Wednesday, including Mathias, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Roger Jepsen and Charles Grassley of Iowa, and Rudy Boschwitz of Minnesota. More meetings are scheduled with Jesse Helms, R-N.C., and others today. Grassley eaid he spoke about abortion with the judge for five minutes during which she expessed the view that it was a subject that could be handled by Congress. Saying he had not made up his mind on how he would vote, Grassley eaid he believes Judge O’Connor is a “strict constructionist” who believes in interpreting the Constitution, and not legislating from the court. Mathias, a moderate Republican who often is at odds with the conservative majority on the Judiciary Committee, eaid he learned during his 40-minute meeting with Judge O’Connor that