Pro-Life Groups Applaud Senate Vote to Confirm John Roberts

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 29, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Pro-Life Groups Applaud Senate Vote to Confirm John Roberts Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 29, 2005

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Pro-life organizations are applauding the Senate’s vote to confirm John Roberts as the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. They say they believe they can count on Roberts to uphold pro-life legislation and possible overturn Roe v. Wade as he leads the nation’s high court.

"We believe that Chief Justice Roberts is in the mold of Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas and will respect the U.S. Constitution and the laws of the land," Christian Coalition president Roberta Combs said.

Fr. Frank Pavone, the director of Priests for Life, agreed and said his group would "look forward to this new chapter in the history of the Supreme Court."

Jan LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America, pointed to the strong 78-22 bipartisan vote for Roberts, but said that 22 senators voted against him means abortion advocates are still using a litmus test to assess judicial nominees.

"Judge Roberts deserved unanimous confirmation by the Senate and the fact that he didn’t get it is further proof of how the left is politicizing the judiciary," LaRue said. "Some chose to jump off a political cliff by joining hands with the die-hard abortion … groups to oppose this supremely qualified judge."

Looking to President Bush’ next pick for the high court, Combs said she’s confident the president will "replace Justice O’Connor someone who will not legislate from the bench and who will revere the Constitution."

"Pro-family and pro-life Americans must continue to speak up and have their voices heard in this process as the Senate debates and votes on the new Supreme Court justice nominee," Combs added.

LaRue added that Roberts laid the foundation for the next candidate by staying true to his role as a judge and refusing to make political promises in exchange for confirmation.

Yet, she worries abortion advocates like Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean are already "whipping Democrats into irrational hysteria" by demanding that abortion advocates in the Senate filibuster any nominee who refuses to uphold Roe v. Wade.