CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS GOVERNOR : Wilson Should Quiz Souter on Abortion Issue, Feinstein Says

Seeking anew to rivet attention on abortion rights, Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday challenged opponent Pete Wilson to question U.S. Supreme Court nominee David Souter about his position on abortion--and to vote against Souter’s confirmation if the nominee is not a firm proponent of abortion rights.

Returning to an issue that she rode convincingly during the primary, Feinstein also said that as governor she would refuse to appoint an abortion opponent to the state Supreme Court. She suggested at a Los Angeles press conference that Wilson could not take that stand, having approved federal Supreme Court judges who oppose abortion rights.

“Would he do the same in California? Will Californians be faced with a state court full of Robert Borks?” she asked, referring to the conservative Reagan Administration appointee whose placement on the court was derailed by the U.S. Senate in 1987 despite Wilson’s support.

Wilson, campaigning in Northern California, said it would be unethical to ask Souter how he would vote on any specific issue.

“I’m sure he will be tested at great length,” the senator, who describes himself as an abortion-rights advocate, told the Associated Press. “What I will not do is demand of him to tell me how he would vote in a particular case.”

Wilson could not be reached for additional comment, but in the past he has said he would not impose any litmus test on judicial candidates. He has acknowledged that he would feel uncomfortable backing a justice who could be the swing vote on cases that abridge abortion rights.

Souter could be just that. If confirmed by the Senate, he will replace retiring Justice William J. Brennan Jr., who consistently voted in favor of abortion rights.

Under typical conditions, Wilson would not have the opportunity to question Souter in public, since he is not a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee begins hearings into the nomination in mid-September and will forward its recommendation to the full Senate. However, Wilson could privately seek out Souter’s views.

In her press conference, Feinstein equated abortion rights for women with civil rights for minorities, saying that Americans would not stand for the appointment of a segregationist to the court and should not stand for the confirmation of an abortion-rights opponent.

The former San Francisco mayor rebuffed Republican suggestions that it would be inappropriate to question Souter about his views on abortion during Senate hearings.

“It is not only legitimate, but it’s also highly appropriate,” she said, though she did add that Souter should not be required to say how he would vote on specific cases.

While she raised the issue of Wilson’s handling of judicial appointments, Feinstein was unusually testy when pressed about how she would handle court nominations herself.

Asked what should happen if Souter, as has been predicted, refuses to answer Senate questions about his abortion position, Feinstein at first left open the possibility that he could still deserve confirmation.

Pressed as to how that jibed with her statement that she would appoint only abortion-rights advocates to the state court, she snapped: “What is it you’re trying to get me to say?”

Then, in what appeared to be a turnabout, she said that if Souter’s abortion position was not known at the conclusion of the hearings, “I would not vote for his confirmation.”

In a prepared statement read to reporters, Feinstein said that in addition to demanding that her state court nominees support abortion rights, she also would nominate only those who support the death penalty.

Asked if there were any other issues besides abortion and capital punishment on which she would insist that a nominee share her position, Feinstein directed reporters to “read my statement.”

“My statement carries my view on this particular subject,” she said. “If I have more to say about other subjects later, I will.”

The Souter nomination has both abortion-rights advocates and opponents squirming, since the New Hampshire-born jurist has no formal record on abortion.

With the announcement of Brennan’s departure, Feinstein seized on it as a way to renew her contention that she would be better than Wilson in protecting abortion rights. Polls have shown that Californians substantially support the right to an abortion, and Feinstein used the issue in the primary against John K. Van de Kamp, who was personally opposed to abortion but pledged to support it politically.

But it has been tougher going against Wilson, who has a long record of support for abortion rights, although he has voted against federal funding for abortions.

Feinstein’s hopes that abortion will ultimately prove a convincing issue for her campaign were evident in the backdrop selected for her press conference at the Century Plaza Hotel. A plaque behind her podium bore a stylized version of a blindfolded Themis, the Greek goddess of justice, holding a set of judicial scales. It bore the insignia: “Protecting Abortion Rights. Dianne Feinstein for Governor.”