WASHINGTON – Chief justice nominee John Roberts repeatedly refused to answer questions about abortion and other contentious issues at his confirmation hearing Tuesday, telling frustrated Democrats he would not discuss matters that could come before the Supreme Court.

“I think nominees have to draw the line where they are most comfortable,” said Roberts, who also sidestepped questions about civil rights, voting rights and the limits of presidential power in a long, occasionally antagonistic day in the witness chair.

Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he said past Supreme Court rulings carry weight, including the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973. But he quickly balanced that by adding that the same principle allows for overturning rulings as well.

Over and over, he assured lawmakers he would be guided by his understanding of the facts of cases, the law and the Constitution, not by his personal views.

“My faith and my religious beliefs do not play a role,” added Roberts, who is Catholic.

“I will be my own man,” he said later.

Roberts flashed his wit occasionally, announcing with a smile that he had reconsidered his long-ago support for term limits for judges. If confirmed, his appointment would be for life.

In a more serious vein, he disavowed the Reagan administration’s support for a tax exemption for a university that banned racial dating, but also said he wasn’t involved in discussions on the issue.

He twice rebuffed Democratic attempts to draw him into a discussion of his views on lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act – whether a showing of discrimination should be sufficient to prevail as opposed to intent to discriminate, which is more difficult to establish.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the committee chairman, raised the question of abortion moments after the hearing began, and the issue reverberated again and again.

“The right to privacy is protected under the Constitution in various ways,” Roberts said at one point. Hours later, he said he agreed with a 38-year-old high court ruling in a case involving contraceptives for married couples, a decision often cited as the underpinning for abortion rights.

He said that if confronted with an abortion case – as seems likely in the high court’s upcoming term – he would give full weight to the precedent of the landmark ruling that established a woman’s right to end her pregnancy.

The legal principle of “stare decisis” requires that, he said, but he also said the same principle allows past rulings to be overturned.

Roberts struck sparks when he indicated his refusal to answer certain questions was based in part on a precedent of “no hints, no forecasts, no previews” that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg set at her hearings 12 years ago.

“That is not true, judge,” interrupted Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., telling Roberts that Ginsburg had been far more forthcoming, particularly about abortion.

Specter broke in at that point – one of several times he did so during the day – telling Biden to let Roberts finish his answer.

Biden said Roberts wasn’t answering at all, then said to the witness seated a few feet away: “Go ahead and continue not to answer.”

Roberts hearings

Supreme Court chief justice nominee John Roberts’ confirmation hearings continue today. The Senate Judiciary Committee convenes at 6:30 a.m. PDT. Senators will begin questioning Roberts in a second round of 20 minutes each. The committee is to meet later today in a closed session to discuss Roberts’ background report from the FBI.