WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett (all times local):

10 a.m.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is declining to say whether she thinks Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established the right to abortion, should be struck down.

Barrett sidestepped questions about that landmark case from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, as the panel held a second day of hearings on Barrett’s nomination.

Barrett says she won’t answer questions about whether she would rule that Roe v. Wade should be overturned because she would not join the court with “some agenda” on the subject. She says her only agenda is to “stick to the rule of law and decide cases as they come.”

Feinstein told Barrett that it was “distressing to not get a straight answer” to her question.

The conservative Barrett was nominated by President Donald Trump last month to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

One of Democrats’ biggest fears is that Barrett’s all but certain confirmation by the Republican controlled Senate would create a 6-3 conservative majority on the court that could well overturn Roe v. Wade.

__

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE SUPREME COURT CONFIRMATION HEARINGS:

Barrett is facing senators’ questions during a second day of confirmation hearings. Republicans control the Senate and want to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before Election Day to cement a conservative court majority.

Read more:

— Health care law on line at court, but is it likely to fall?

— Takeaways: Coronavirus at center of Supreme Court hearings

___

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

9:55 a.m.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett says the confirmation process is “excruciating” but that that she accepted President Donald Trump’s nomination because she is “committed to the rule of law” and the role of the Supreme Court.

Barrett said that “if the difficulty is the only reason to say no, I should serve my country.” She added that even though there are “momentous consequences” for her family, they are “all-in” on the decision because they share her belief in the rule of law.

Still, she said she has tried to be on a “media blackout for the sake of my mental health.”

Barrett said she and her husband “knew that our lives would be combed over for any negative detail, we knew that our faith would be caricatured, we knew our family would be attacked.”

__

9:40 a.m.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett says she will be able to put aside her Catholic beliefs when ruling if she’s confirmed as a justice on the nation’s highest court.

Barrett told Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Tuesday she “can” set aside her Catholic beliefs and has “done that” since her confirmation as an appeals court judge in 2017. Graham chairs the Judiciary Committee overseeing Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

Barrett was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the court. She’s fielding questions from senators on the judiciary panel this week.

Republicans have warned Democrats against criticizing Barrett’s religion or making it an issue in the hearings, although Democrats have made clear they have no plans to do so this week.

9:40 a.m.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett says she will be able to put aside her Catholic beliefs when ruling if she’s confirmed as a justice on the nation’s highest court.

Barrett told Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Tuesday she “can” set aside her Catholic beliefs and has “done that” since her confirmation as an appeals court judge in 2017. Graham chairs the Judiciary Committee overseeing Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

Barrett was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the court. She’s fielding questions from senators on the judiciary panel this week.

Republicans have warned Democrats against criticizing Barrett’s religion or making it an issue in the hearings, although Democrats have made clear they have no plans to do so this week.

9:30 a.m.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett says if she’s confirmed to the Supreme Court she’ll be her own justice.

Barrett has said the late Justice Antonin Scalia was a mentor to her and she was a former clerk for him. But when she was asked about her views on how she interpreted the Constitution and law at her confirmation hearing on Tuesday, she said that if confirmed the country would not be “getting Justice Scalia, you would be getting Justice Barrett.”

Barrett is facing the first day of questioning from senators in her confirmation hearings. Republicans are moving at a break-neck pace because they want to get Barrett on the court before the Nov. 3 election.

Democrats are worried about whether Barrett would strike down the Affordable Care Act. They say Republicans are rushing the confirmation process.

___

9 a.m.

The second day of confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett has begun.

On Tuesday, Barrett will answer questions from senators on the Judiciary Committee. A day earlier, she told the panel she believes the court should interpret the U.S. Constitution and laws “as they are written.”

Barrett said in her opening statement that people of all backgrounds deserve “an independent Supreme Court.”

Even before her confirmation hearings end, the Senate Judiciary Committee has already scheduled a Thursday vote to approve her nomination. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham scheduled a committee vote for 9 a.m. Thursday, the last day of hearings. Barrett’s nomination is expected to be brought up for a vote at that meeting and then delayed for a week, per committee rules.

Republicans are moving quickly to confirm Barrett before the presidential election Nov. 3.