President Barack Obama said Wednesday he would name a new nominee for the US Supreme Court by the end of next month, and urged Senate leaders to ensure a 'smooth' confirmation process. The president also said he would seek a nominee who took into account women's rights but said he would not impose a formal 'litmus test' on a potential candidate's views on the hot-button issue of abortion. Obama noted that the Senate confirmation formalities for his first Supreme Court pick, Justice Sonia Sotomayor were 'smooth' and 'civil' and said he hoped for a similar approach from all sides this year. 'Last time the nomination went out at the end of May. We're certainly going to meet that deadline. We hope that maybe we can accelerate a little bit,' Obama told reporters in the Oval Office. He was joined at a meeting on his future nominee by Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, and Richard Leahy, chairman of the chamber's Judiciary Committee. Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Jeff Sessions the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, were also at the talks, ahead of what could be a heated partisan fight in a mid-term election year. The president, who has reportedly already contacted some potential nominees, signalled that he would not make a candidate's position on abortion a decisive factor, but that their position on an issue which divides America was important. 'I'm somebody who believes that women should have the ability to make often very difficult decisions about their own bodies and issues of reproduction,' Obama said. 'I will say that I want somebody who's going to be interpreting our constitution in a way which takes into account individual rights and that includes women's rights, and that's going to be something that's going to be very important to me. 'What our core constitutional values promote is the notion that individuals are protected in their privacy... and women aren't exempt from that.' In the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that a law which banned abortion, except to save a woman's life, was unconstitutional. Justices based their decision on the notion that a right of privacy was enshrined in the US Constitution -- a view fiercely opposed by anti-abortion foes on moral grounds. In recent years, and given the increasingly conservative tilt to the court, some pro-abortion activists have been concerned that there could be future moves to restrict the practice. Stevens, emerged as a liberal standard bearer during his years as a justice, so his departure, and Obama's nominee is not likely to change the balance of the court. A president can influence American life for years after he leaves office, with the lifetime appointment of a Supreme Court justice. 