Sonia Sotomayor has not directly issued any rulings on abortion rights but has been involved in two cases:

1. Center for Reproductive Law & Policy v. Bush, 304 F.3d 183 Plaintiff public interest organization challenged the “Mexico City Policy,” a.k.a. the “global gag rule” and its provisions stripping U.S. aid to foreign NGOs informing about or performing abortions. Sotomayor authored the opinion which dismissed the case for lack of standing.

The anti-choice group Americans United for Life was pleased with the decision.

2. Port Washington Teachers’ Association v. Board of Education, 478 F.3d 494 (2d Cir. 2007). was the second case. Teachers challenged a school district policy which was trying to get teachers to report student pregnancies to the student’s parents. The case was dismissed for lack of standing because the policy was considered voluntary and thus no consequences could befall teachers who did not adhere to it.
www.choicematters.org/

Remember the gag rule on abortion - Sonia Sotomayor supported it.

The Bush Global Gag Rule: Endangering Women’s Health, Free Speech and Democracy

"On January 22, 2001, on his first business day in office (and the 28th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing a woman's right to an abortion), President George W. Bush re-imposed the Global Gag Rule on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) population program. This policy restricts foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive USAID family planning funds from using their own, non-U.S. funds to provide legal abortion services, lobby their own governments for abortion law reform, or even provide accurate medical counseling or referrals regarding abortion. The 1973 Helms Amendment is a legislative provision that already restricts U.S. funds from being used for these activities.

78,000 women die every year from unsafe abortion, a statistic that could be virtually eliminated by the provision of appropriate health information and services and law reform efforts. Despite this, President Bush's Executive Memorandum directs USAID "to reinstate in full all of the requirements of the Mexico City Policy in effect on January 19, 1993." According to this policy, foreign organizations--often the only health-care providers in remote, rural areas--are prohibited from using their own, non-U.S. funds for:

* providing legal abortions even where a woman's physical or mental health is endangered (the only exceptions are in cases of rape, incest, or where the woman's life is endangered);
* providing advice and information regarding the availability and benefits of abortion and from providing referrals to another health clinic;
* lobbying their own governments to legalize abortion, to maintain current law and oppose restrictions, or to decriminalize abortion; and
* conducting public education campaigns regarding abortion.

In addition, even the provision of services that are "permitted"1 on paper, such as life-saving abortions and post-abortion care, are often curtailed because NGOs fear jeopardizing their funding through any association with abortion. Providers may even be reluctant to dispense emergency contraception--which acts to prevent pregnancy and is not an abortifacient --because of the Global Gag Rule......."

reproductiverights.org/en/doc...mocracy

I have other separation of church & state issues with her too - there's just not enough info about her position on several things.

Supreme Court Nominee Should Be Closely Questioned On Church-State Views, Says Americans United

"The Senate Judiciary Committee should thoroughly question Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to determine her views on church-state separation, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

President Barack Obama today announced the nomination of Sotomayor, currently a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, to the high court. It appears that Sotomayor has not written widely on church-state issues, meaning the committee has an obligation to ascertain her views.

“We hope Judge Sotomayor turns out to be in the mold of retiring Justice David H. Souter – a strong champion of separation of church and state,” said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “The American people deserve no less.”

www.au.org/media/press-...e-should.html

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