Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has told the Senate Finance Committee that she does not anticipate issuing new abortion regulations if she is approved as U.S. secretary of health and human services.
"I am personally opposed to abortion, and my faith teaches me that all life is sacred," she told Sen. Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican. "I have tried to reduce unwanted pregnancies and thus curtail the need for abortion."
The governor’s answers to written questions were the first time she has publicly discussed abortion issues with committee members during her confirmation process.
Sebelius, a Democrat, said new federal abortion regulations might be needed if Congress or the courts changed the law, promising to "implement and uphold the law."
She said she vetoed some abortion measures in Kansas because of privacy concerns or the threat to "constitutional rights."
Sebelius also told Kyl that her 2006 dinner with abortion provider George Tiller was part of a fundraising event.
All 137 pages of the senators’ questions and Sebelius’ answers can be read here.
Anti-abortion groups have criticized the Sebelius nomination, which the Senate is expected to take up when it returns from the spring recess.
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