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SAN FRANCISCO -- Democrats are prepared to filibuster to block any anti-abortion nominee proposed to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said Tuesday.

"The filibuster is on the table. It's been on the table for 200 years," Boxer said when asked what methods could be used to block a Supreme Court candidate who would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade, the three-decade old decision legalizing abortion.

O'Connor retired from the Supreme Court last week, opening a vacancy that could swing the court's balance. President Bush gets his first chance to nominate a judge to the nation's highest court.

Bush, who has nominated numerous conservatives to fill federal appeals court vacancies, has said he admires Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, the two most conservative members of today's generally conservative court. Both would overturn the Roe v. Wade decision.

Seven Democrats and seven Republicans signed a pact this spring pledging not to filibuster judicial nominees except in extraordinary circumstances, and three judges whose nominations had been held up were soon confirmed.

Boxer called a threat to legalized abortion an "extraordinary circumstance."

"It means a minimum of 5,000 women a year will die. So all options are on the table," she said.

Boxer called O'Connor a crucial moderate voice, saying the first female appointed to the high court was a strong backer of environmentalism and reproductive rights.

"She has been a powerful voice for moderation," Boxer said. "This is a philosophy her successor should embrace ... We cannot go back to the dark days. Roe must remain the law of the land."