WASHINGTON — While Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr.'s views on abortion triggered intense debate on Capitol Hill yesterday, there was no mistaking where his wife stands: Jane Sullivan Roberts, a lawyer, is ardently against abortion.

A Catholic like her husband, Jane Roberts has been deeply involved in the anti-abortion movement. She lends her name, money and professional advice to a small Washington-based organization — Feminists for Life of America Inc. — that offers counseling and educational programs. The group has filed legal briefs before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of abortion.

A spouse's views normally are not considered relevant in weighing someone's job suitability. But abortion is likely to figure prominently in the Senate debate over Roberts' nomination. And with his position on the divisive issue unclear, abortion-rights supporters expressed concern that his wife's views might suggest he also embraces efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade.

"It's unclear how all this will affect her husband," said Jennifer Palmieri, a spokeswoman with the Center for American Progress, a liberal public policy group. "It's possible that he would have a different view than her. It's just that in the absence of information about this guy, people are looking at her and trying to read the tea leaves."

Asked to discuss her role with Feminists for Life, Jane Roberts declined.

Advocacy groups on both sides of the abortion issue reacted strongly to John Roberts' nomination.

The anti-abortion group Operation Rescue said: "We pray that Judge Roberts will be swiftly confirmed."

But Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, warned that of the Supreme Court candidates considered by Bush, Roberts was one of the "most extreme" when it comes to the question of overturning the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.

Feminists for Life has sponsored a national advertising campaign aimed at ending abortion in America. One of its mission statements proclaims: "Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women. Women deserve better than abortion."

Jane Roberts was a volunteer member of Feminists for Life's board of directors from 1995 to 1999. She has provided legal assistance and been recognized as a contributor who donated from $1,000 to $,2,500.

Sherrin Foster, president of the organization, said Roberts maintains her ties by giving the group legal advice on how to draw up incorporation and not-for-profit papers.

She also has written for the group's newsletter, Foster said, including an article about adoption; Roberts and her husband have adopted two children.

"She's a brilliant attorney, and we're really proud that she lent her legal services to us to help serve the needs of women," Foster said. "She was a very good board member. She was invaluable as an attorney for us."

Foster said that while she has met John Roberts, he has not been involved with Feminists for Life.

Judge Roberts' public positions on abortion and Roe v. Wade appear to be inconsistent.

In 1990, working as the principal deputy Solicitor General in the first Bush administration, Roberts wrote a brief for the Supreme Court in a case regarding federal money for abortion doctors and clinics. "We continue to believe," he wrote, "that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overruled."

His brief added: "The (Supreme) Court's conclusion in Roe that there is a fundamental right to an abortion ... finds no support in the text, structure or history of the Constitution."

But during the 2003 Senate confirmation hearings on his appellate court nomination, Roberts took the position that abortion rights was no longer a debatable issue.

"Roe vs. Wade is the settled law of the land," he said. "There's nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent."

But abortion-rights groups are convinced that Roberts is opposed to abortion.

"He's absolutely anti-Roe," Gandy said. "He believes it was wrongly decided and should be reversed."

Asked then why Roberts two years ago proclaimed Roe vs. Wade a "settled" issue, Gandy responded: "You have to say that. You can't get on the court without saying you will follow legal precedent. All the most extreme nominees say that. You can't even take the oath of office (unless) you say that."