By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer By a vote of 68-31, the U.S. Senate confirmed pro-abortion Catholic judge Sonia Sotomayor as the next Supreme Court Justice, replacing Justice David Souter. According to a report by LifeSiteNews.com, Sotomayor, a 55 year old Hispanic judge won confirmation after 18 hours of Senate debate that resulted in 31 Republican lawmakers voting against the confirmation. Their opposition was largely in regard to her activist judicial philosophy and narrow interpretation of the Second Amendment. Sotomayor’s support for abortion gained little attention during the process in spite of the fact that she referred to abortion as a “right” during confirmation hearings and consistently referred to the Roe v. Wade decision as “settled law” while expressing less support for the Supreme Court’s decision regarding partial birth abortion. "As evidenced from the declining levels of support for President Obama and Judge Sotomayor, even among Hispanics, it was for good reason no doubt that Senate Democrat leadership rushed hearings and hid the Sotomayor confirmation with a negligible amount of scheduled floor time not befitting a Supreme Court nomination," commented Manuel Miranda, the former Republican counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Miranda said conservatives could take pride in the 31 Republicans who voted against the nomination.  He called the show of GOP resolve "a far departure from the overwhelming support that Republicans gave to President Clinton's two, arguably, far-more-objectionable nominees, Judges Ginsburg and Breyer, just one decade ago." Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List said "Sonia Sotomayor's record of support for judicial activism and her work for the pro-abortion Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund offer little comfort that she will be a friend to the unborn on the Supreme Court." © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com