WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito said Tuesday he would deal with the issue of abortion with an open mind as a justice, though he defended his 1991 judicial vote saying women seeking abortions must notify their husbands. In the second day of Senate hearings, Alito also said no president or court is above the law — even in time of war — as he addressed questions on presidential powers. The federal judge also faced tough questions about his decisions during 15 years on an appeals court and about his writings on wiretaps.President Bush’s choice for the high court said his Reagan-era writings opposing abortion reflected an attorney representing a client’s interests and, if confirmed and faced with an abortion case, “I would approach the question with an open mind.”

The federal judge defended his dissent in the 1991 case of Casey v. Planned Parenthood, in which the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Pennsylvania law that included a provision requiring women seeking abortions to notify their spouses. The Supreme Court also rejected the spousal notification, but Chief Justice William Rehnquist quoted from Alito’s opinion in his own dissent. The high court, on a 5-4 vote, upheld a woman’s right to the procedure but was divided on other elements of the case. Alito told the Senate Judiciary Committee: “I did it because that’s what I thought the law required.”