Elena Kagan in Politico.com

On Abortion: Compromise on abortion if core rights & exceptions upheld

Some abortion-rights activists are worried about a memo Kagan authored in 1997 urging President Bill Clinton to support a compromise ban on late-term abortions to avoid a standoff with Republicans in Congress. But Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), a leader in Congress for abortion rights, said that the compromise included an exception in cases where a mother's health was in danger. "That was definitely something that everybody had supported at that time," Boxer said.

Asked what gave her assurances that Kagan would uphold Roe v. Wade, Boxer said: "I have no reason to think anything else except that she would be a very strong supporter of privacy rights because everyone she worked for held that view."

On Civil Rights: Defend Defense of Marriage Act, since it is the law

Kagan's biggest vulnerability is her position against "don't ask, don't tell," the ban on gays openly serving in the military, which led to her decision as dean of Harvard Law School to bar military recruiters from the school's career office.

On Civil Rights: OpEd: Conservatives see Kagan as sure vote for gay rights

Kagan's biggest vulnerability is her position against "don't ask, don't tell," the ban on gays openly serving in the military, which led to her decision as dean of Harvard Law School to bar military recruiters from the school's career office.

Critics and supporters alike are also focusing on the other clues to her positions. During her solicitor general confirmation hearing, for instance, she asserted that "there is no federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage."