Our senior (citizen) senator, 82-year-old "Uncle" Ted Stevens, has served Alaska for almost four decades, and though his record on environmental issues (including ANWR and global warming) leaves much to be desired by Alaska's liberal crowd, his position on abortion is a little different from those of some of his "right to life" espousing republican contemporaries.

I was surprised last week to hear that Stevens is a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision on abortion. I was equally surprised to hear, after Judge Samuel Alito failed to recognize Roe v. Wade as settled law, that Stevens was still planning to vote for Alito's confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I am proud to come from a family with a long line of very strong pro-choice women, and I have reflected their judgment here in the Senate," said Stevens while discussing his intention to vote for Judge Samuel Alito's confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. "I am from a different generation. I remember well when a woman's right to choose to have an abortion was not recognized by law."

"The reversal of Roe v. Wade would be destabilizing for our country and our federal system," Stevens went on to say. "It could, and probably would, lead to a battle to amend the Constitution to reassure American women of their Constitutional rights. Such a battle is unnecessary as long as the justices on the Supreme Court honor the doctrine of stare decisis."

Stare decisis is Latin for "to stand by that which is decided." The idea is that precedent decisions are to be followed by the courts. Now that's entirely different from the doctrine of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," because the doctrine of stare decisis is not always relied upon. Some cases are overturned or reexamined because they were hastily decided or, in retrospect, seem outdated for the modern United States.

But in the matter of Alito's confirmation, and more importantly, on the matter of Roe v. Wade, stare decisis became an issue because many Americans, including the senators conducting his confirmation hearing, were concerned that Alito believed that the Roe v. Wade decision was not decided law.

The fact of the matter is that Alito did not tell the Senate Judiciary Committee that he thought Roe v. Wade was settled law. Despite this, Stevens, along with that other senator, Lisa "Daddy's Girl" Murkowski, have pledged to vote in favor of Alito's confirmation.

Stevens claims that Alito's record on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals shows that the judge follows the doctrine of stare decisis, and it would appear that Alito's record is sufficient for Stevens.

Some have claimed that the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to thoroughly grill Alito on stare decisis and Roe v. Wade, but I think the truth, as it relates to Alaska's senators, is something a little more insipid.

I think Alito's answers were good enough for Stevens and Murkowski, and that's why I don't think Alaska's senators are the pro-choice advocates that they claim to be.