now is a critical moment for abortion
sandra day o'connor's retirement means a new appointment to the supreme court. what used to be a 5-4 vote in favor of keeping abortion legal will probably start to slide right here. with a projected 30 states to ban abortion, things don't look good if roe v. wade is reversed, and the decision goes back to state hands. we need to do a research, move, and organize.
here is an article about o'connor's resignation, with some basic info:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=atRWfE17sGOE&refer=top_world_news
below is some info i've compiled about the possible appointees to the supreme court.
it's probable that bush will try to appoint a right-wing extremist judge, and as i'm sure we all have guessed, none of these people seem to be on the side of keeping abortion legal.
this is a time when we're going to have to get creative and serious about keeping abortion legal, because urging our senators to fillibuster isn't going to be enough.
meetings, discussions, movie showings, etc. need to happen so that everyone knows where we are with abortion and where we can go.
if you're local, and want to brainstorm, you can contact me at
antiautomaton@mutualaid.org, and we can get people together in the greater cleveland area to talk.
others, you can organize yourselves in your areas and get stuff going there.
good luck,
in solidarity and struggle,
zirca, cleveland, ohio
+++
i did some minor research here, and i invite others to do the same. at the same time, i think we need to be realistic about the legislative avenues of intervention, and start to think in terms of some hardcore grassroots actions and organizing on many levels.
*edith jones, one of the supposed candidates, is actually the judge that denied norma mccorvey's (jane roe) request to reopen the case and overturn abortion. however, she also said that the distribution of "choose life" license plates in louisiana couldnt be restricted.
*samuel a. alito jr. was the only judge who didnt strike down a
pennsylvania law that women seeking abortions to inform their husbands
*miguel estrada won’t tell the American public where he stands on roe or most other legal principles. when the nominee went before the senate judiciary committee and was asked whether he believed roe v. wade was correctly decided, he declined to provide an answer.
*emilio m. garza is most known for his views that roe v. wade should be overturned and that abortion regulation should be decided by state legislatures.
*alberto r. gonzales--"The attorney general and former White House counsel, where he was prominent in OK'ing torture in Iraq prisons, he's the best known of several Hispanic possibilities."
- The Village Voice, June 21, 2005.
but also in texas--agreed that a 17-year-old girl could have an abortion without getting her parents' consent.
*j. michael luttig--was against choose life license plates in sc, ruled in 1999 against the federal Violence Against Women Act (which actually just passed, no thanks to his help), and blocked a court ruling against virginia's ban on late term abortion
*michael w. mcconnell in 1996, signed a statement supporting a
constitutional amendment to ban abortion.
*theodore olson "unsuccessfully defended the Virginia Military Institute's ban on women, fought for the Colorado initiative that would have barred cities and towns from passing gay rights statutes, and won a case that overturned affirmative action admissions policies at the University of Texas law school. - The Village Voice, June 21, 2005"
*william pryor--"Pryor also has been highly critical of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion. Senate Democrats filibustered his nomination to the appeals court, and he accepted a recess appointment by Bush. He was later renominated and confirmed last month, after a group of Senate Republicans and Democrats agreed to reserve filibusters only for 'extraordinary circumstances.' Three Republicans voted against him in the Senate."
- Chicago Tribune, June 22, 2005
*john g. roberts jr. helped bush sr. argue that doctors and clinics
receiving federal funds may not talk to patients about abortion (global gag rule)
*larry thompson--cited as a "pro-life advocate" by many individuals and groups
*j. harvie wilkinson III--has opposed affirmative action and the violence against women act, was part of a panel that ruled in 2003 that the government could indefinitely detain without legal rights American citizens captured overseas in the war on terror.
*karen williams--held the decision that a woman who fled china after the government forced her to have an intrauterine birth control device implanted was not entitled to asylum in the united States
*judge susan black said choose life license plates were okay in florida (stuck down the challenging case)
*janice rogers brown--(from musicforamerica)
"A review of California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown's record to date reveals a troubling pattern of persistent and disturbing hostility toward affirmative action, civil rights, the rights of individuals with disabilities, workers' rights, and fairness in the criminal justice system. Justice Brown has often been alone in her dissents from opinions of the California Supreme Court, illustrating that her legal interpretations are far outside the judicial mainstream. In her opinions, Justice Brown has also shown an inability to dispassionately review cases; instead, her opinions are based on extremist ideology that ignores judicial precedent, including that set by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and The Congressional Black Caucus have both sharply opposed Brown's nomination."
here is an article about o'connor's resignation, with some basic info:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=atRWfE17sGOE&refer=top_world_news
below is some info i've compiled about the possible appointees to the supreme court.
it's probable that bush will try to appoint a right-wing extremist judge, and as i'm sure we all have guessed, none of these people seem to be on the side of keeping abortion legal.
this is a time when we're going to have to get creative and serious about keeping abortion legal, because urging our senators to fillibuster isn't going to be enough.
meetings, discussions, movie showings, etc. need to happen so that everyone knows where we are with abortion and where we can go.
if you're local, and want to brainstorm, you can contact me at
antiautomaton@mutualaid.org, and we can get people together in the greater cleveland area to talk.
others, you can organize yourselves in your areas and get stuff going there.
good luck,
in solidarity and struggle,
zirca, cleveland, ohio
+++
i did some minor research here, and i invite others to do the same. at the same time, i think we need to be realistic about the legislative avenues of intervention, and start to think in terms of some hardcore grassroots actions and organizing on many levels.
*edith jones, one of the supposed candidates, is actually the judge that denied norma mccorvey's (jane roe) request to reopen the case and overturn abortion. however, she also said that the distribution of "choose life" license plates in louisiana couldnt be restricted.
*samuel a. alito jr. was the only judge who didnt strike down a
pennsylvania law that women seeking abortions to inform their husbands
*miguel estrada won’t tell the American public where he stands on roe or most other legal principles. when the nominee went before the senate judiciary committee and was asked whether he believed roe v. wade was correctly decided, he declined to provide an answer.
*emilio m. garza is most known for his views that roe v. wade should be overturned and that abortion regulation should be decided by state legislatures.
*alberto r. gonzales--"The attorney general and former White House counsel, where he was prominent in OK'ing torture in Iraq prisons, he's the best known of several Hispanic possibilities."
- The Village Voice, June 21, 2005.
but also in texas--agreed that a 17-year-old girl could have an abortion without getting her parents' consent.
*j. michael luttig--was against choose life license plates in sc, ruled in 1999 against the federal Violence Against Women Act (which actually just passed, no thanks to his help), and blocked a court ruling against virginia's ban on late term abortion
*michael w. mcconnell in 1996, signed a statement supporting a
constitutional amendment to ban abortion.
*theodore olson "unsuccessfully defended the Virginia Military Institute's ban on women, fought for the Colorado initiative that would have barred cities and towns from passing gay rights statutes, and won a case that overturned affirmative action admissions policies at the University of Texas law school. - The Village Voice, June 21, 2005"
*william pryor--"Pryor also has been highly critical of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion. Senate Democrats filibustered his nomination to the appeals court, and he accepted a recess appointment by Bush. He was later renominated and confirmed last month, after a group of Senate Republicans and Democrats agreed to reserve filibusters only for 'extraordinary circumstances.' Three Republicans voted against him in the Senate."
- Chicago Tribune, June 22, 2005
*john g. roberts jr. helped bush sr. argue that doctors and clinics
receiving federal funds may not talk to patients about abortion (global gag rule)
*larry thompson--cited as a "pro-life advocate" by many individuals and groups
*j. harvie wilkinson III--has opposed affirmative action and the violence against women act, was part of a panel that ruled in 2003 that the government could indefinitely detain without legal rights American citizens captured overseas in the war on terror.
*karen williams--held the decision that a woman who fled china after the government forced her to have an intrauterine birth control device implanted was not entitled to asylum in the united States
*judge susan black said choose life license plates were okay in florida (stuck down the challenging case)
*janice rogers brown--(from musicforamerica)
"A review of California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown's record to date reveals a troubling pattern of persistent and disturbing hostility toward affirmative action, civil rights, the rights of individuals with disabilities, workers' rights, and fairness in the criminal justice system. Justice Brown has often been alone in her dissents from opinions of the California Supreme Court, illustrating that her legal interpretations are far outside the judicial mainstream. In her opinions, Justice Brown has also shown an inability to dispassionately review cases; instead, her opinions are based on extremist ideology that ignores judicial precedent, including that set by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and The Congressional Black Caucus have both sharply opposed Brown's nomination."