Orrin Hatch: “After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Stenberg v. Carhart that a State legislative ban on partial-birth abortion is…”

“After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Stenberg v. Carhart that a State legislative ban on partial-birth abortion is unconstitutional, Attorney General William Pryor instructed State law enforcement officials to abide by that decision, even though he personally disagreed. The Senator from Tennessee, Mr. Alexander, presiding in the Chair right now, reminded us earlier today that this was at General Pryor's own initiative. The law, not his personal views, formed how he carried out his official duties. Attorney General Pryor filed an amicus brief in the Lawrence v. Texas case defending a State's right to prohibit certain sexual conduct. Alabama had a statute similar to the Texas statute being challenged in that case. When the Supreme Court ruled against his position, he immediately released an official statement that the Supreme Court decision rendered Alabama's law unenforceable. Similarly, the entire country knows that as Alabama Attorney General, William Pryor took an unpopular stand regarding the Ten Commandments display in the Alabama judicial building. One respected religious magazine placed a picture of Judge Pryor on its cover with a headline asking whether his legal stance amounted to political suicide. It is clear that Judge Pryor places the law above personal priorities and political expediency. This stuff about following the law rather than personal opinions is not rhetoric, talking points, or window dressing.…”