Ginsburg to President Bush: Only Pro-Abortion Woman for High Court

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 22, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Ginsburg to President Bush: Only Pro-Abortion Woman for High Court Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 22, 2005

New York, NY (LifeNews.com) — Speaking to a group of New York attorneys, pro-abortion Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she didn’t like being the only woman on the nation’s high court, with the retirement of pro-abortion Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. However, she has a message for President Bush — don’t send any pro-life women to join me.

Speaking to the New York City Bar Association, Ginsburg said "any woman will not do" in replacing O’Connor, according to an Associated Press report.

She said there are "some women who might be appointed who would not advance [abortion]."

"I have a list of highly qualified women, but the president has not consulted me," she added during a brief interview Wednesday night.

President Bush originally picked John Roberts to replace O’Connor, but upped his nomination to the chief justice position when pro-life Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away.

Now, the president is said to be considering from among a poll of pro-life women and Hispanics to replace O’Connor.

Judge Priscilla Owen, a pro-life advocate who sits on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals; Judge Edith Clement of the 5th Circuit, described as a conservative jurist in the mold of Clarence Thomas or Antonin Scalia; pro-life Judge Edith Jones, also of the 5th Circuit; and Judge Karen Williams of the 4th Circuit, considered one of the most conservative of the women judges, are touted as leading possibilities.

If Bush chooses to go with a minority who is not a woman, speculation is that Judge Emilio Garza is at the top of the list.

Garza is a federal appeals court judge on the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Garza’s opposition to abortion is beyond question. He wrote two separate opinions explicitly criticizing Roe v. Wade and suggesting it be overturned.

Ginsburg, an abortion advocate, is the second woman named ot the nation’s top court after O’Connor and was appointed by former President Bill Clinton.