In the two weeks since Solicitor General Elena Kagan was nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court, Americans United for Life has sent out almost daily e-mails painting her as hostile to restrictions on abortion. But abortion rights advocates aren’t so sure she’s firmly on their side either. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Campaign has defended Kagan’s stand at Harvard Law School against the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. But the group is still wondering how Kagan would rule on same-sex marriage.
Unlike Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination last year, interest groups cannot turn to judicial opinions to glean Kagan’s views on a host of hot-button issues. That has created a special challenge for groups trying to determine how much support to throw behind Kagan’s nomination, or the level of vigor with which to oppose it. Instead, researchers are combing through sources as varied as policy memos Kagan wrote while part of the Clinton administration, her student theses, and documents related to her job as solicitor general.
