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January 9, 2006
Alito Hearings Begin with Emphasis on Abortion
Topics: Supreme CourtThe Senate Judiciary Committe has begun its opening statements regarding the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. In his opening remarks, Committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) had this to say about questions that will be directed to Judge Alito concerning abortion (source):
Perhaps the dominant issue is the widespread concern about Judge Alito's position on a woman's right to choose. This has arisen, in part, because of a 1985 statement by Judge Alito that the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion, his advocacy in the Solicitor General's Office to modify Roe v. Wade and the dissenting portion of his opinion in Casey v. Planned Parenthood in the Third Circuit. This hearing will give Judge Alito the public forum to address the issue, as he has with Senators in private meetings, that his personal views and prior advocacy will not determine his judicial decision, but instead he will weigh factors such as stare decisis on the precedents, women's (and men's, too) reliance on Roe, and whether Roe is embedded in the culture of our nation.
The history of the Court is full of surprises on this issue. The major case upholding Roe is Casey v. Planned Parenthood, where the landmark opinion was written jointly by Justices O'Connor, Kennedy and Souter. Justices O'Connor and Kennedy were outspoken in opposition to abortion rights before joining the Court. As New Hampshire's Attorney General, David Souter had opposed repealing his state's law banning abortions even after Roe had declared it unconstitutional. At the time of Justice Souter's confirmation hearing, there was a "Stop Souter Rally" by the National Organization for Women on Capitol Hill. The red letter poster said "Stop Souter or Women Will Die".I understand Specter's implied criticism of abortion extremists who are already rallying against Alito with similar ridiculous and untrue assertions. Yet I'm tired of Senators who cater to the left by suggesting that Alito could be a "Souter" or a "Kennedy" and that taking a strong pro-life stand is unacceptable for a judge.
Cross-posted: ProLifeBlogs
Posted by tim at January 9, 2006 12:56 PM
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Comments
Thought you might be interested in link to The Media Line article on the plight of pilgrims for the Hajj
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=12361
Posted by: ann at January 9, 2006 4:18 PM
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