Senator Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said Alito told him in their private meeting that he recognized a right to privacy, the principle that underlies the Supreme Court's abortion rights rulings. ``I think he believes in that fundamental right,'' Durbin told reporters in Washington. He added that Alito didn't say if he would apply it in abortion cases.

On abortion, Nelson expressed support for a dissenting opinion by Alito that said states can require a married woman to notify her husband before ending a pregnancy. As governor of Nebraska, Nelson said, he helped push legislation requiring a waiting period for women before an abortion and that minors get parental consent for the procedure.
``I thought it was a legitimate effort by the state legislature, and, with my urging, to get those enhancements in place because I thought it was the role of the state to do so,'' Nelson said. ``It is pretty clear that judge Alito feels similarly.''

Durbin said Alito told him that the dissent ``was a tough decision'' to write.
``He spent more time worrying over, and working on, that dissent than any other'' opinion he ever wrote,'' Durbin said. ``I was glad to hear that.''