Sen. Coburn Can't Make Up His Mind On The Application Of Foreign Law
On July 16, 2009, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) asked Judge Sonia Sotomayor, "where do we stand in this country when 80% of the rest of the world allows abortion only before 12 weeks?" However, the very previous day, he stated, "we don't want judges to consider legislation and foreign law that's developed through bodies, elected bodies outside of this country."
July 16 - Sen. Coburn Asked: "Where Do We Stand In This Country When 80% Of The Rest Of The World Allows Abortion Only Before 12 Weeks?"
Sen. Tom Coburn:
What I was trying to draw out to you is, where do we stand in this country when 80% of the rest of the world allows abortion only before 12 weeks, only before 12 weeks?
And yet we allow it for any reason, at any time, for any inconvenience under the health of the woman aspect. [Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings, 7/16/09]
July 15 - Sen. Coburn Said: "We Don't Want Judges To Consider Legislation And Foreign Law."
Sen. Coburn Explicitly Rejected The Use Application Of Foreign Law To The United States. On July 15, 2009, during Judge Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, the following exchange took place:
COBURN: In other areas where you will sit in judgment, can you cite for me the authority even given in your oath or the Constitution that allows you to utilize laws outside of this country to make decisions about laws inside this country?
[...]
We don't want judges to have closed minds just as much as we don't want judges to consider legislation and foreign law that's developed through bodies, elected bodies outside of this country, to influence what, either rightly so or wrongly so, against what the elected representatives and Constitution of this country says. [Transcript via the Washington Post, 7/15/09; emphasis added]
