Judging Sotomayor

By John Durkee

Washington, D.C. – WASHINGTON (AP) Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is shedding no additional light on her views on abortion, despite persistent questioning from one of the Senate's staunchest abortion opponents.

Sotomayor referred to Supreme Court cases establishing that women have a constitutional right to abortions in some circumstances and that the high court must consider whether state regulations pose an undue burden on that right.

But as her Senate confirmation hearing continued Wednesday, she wouldn't answer questions from Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma an obstetrician about whether medical advances that could make a fetus viable at an earlier stage in pregnancy should affect how the court considers abortion.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.