Ashcroft pledges to enforce laws, not preferences

WASHINGTON - Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft, answering critics of his anti-abortion and civil rights views, pledged yesterday to enforce the nation's laws despite his "personal preferences."

While Ashcroft said in an opening statement at his Senate confirmation hearing that he believes the Roe v. Wade case legalizing abortion was "wrongly decided," he accepts it "as the settled law of the land. The Supreme Court's decisions on this have been multiple, recent and emphatic."

He insisted that, if confirmed, he would be "advancing the national interest, not advocating my personal interest," adding that he would enforce federal laws protecting women's access to abortion clinics.

"No woman should fear being threatened or coerced in seeking constitutionally protected health services," he said.

Not since the Clarence Thomas hearings a decade ago has the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings amid such an onslaught of criticism against a nominee from civil rights and women's groups.

"From racial profiling to news of unwarranted strip searches, the list of injustice in America today is still long. Injustice in America against any individual must not stand," Ashcroft said.

The nominee, a Republican former senator from Missouri, commented on several specific issues in his opening statement and then told senators they could "pummel me with questions."

"When I swear to uphold the law, I will keep my oath, so help me God," Ashcroft said, holding his hand up as he completed his statement.