Pro-Life Group Asks Chairman for Exhaustive Hearing on Supreme Court Pick
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 5, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — When the Senate Judiciary Committee gathers to hold hearings on a Supreme Court nominee, one pro-life group tells the panel’s chairman it wants a full discussion of where the nominee stands on abortion. The letter comes from Charmaine Yoest, the president of Americans United for Life.
"The most important question a nominee for the Supreme Court must answer is to articulate their judicial philosophy: will they advance an agenda that limits the right of the people to determine the content of abortion-related laws through the democratic process?" she writes.
"In the days ahead, we look to our Senators to uphold their duty to raise serious questions on the nominee’s judicial philosophy and reject any nominee who places personal preference over upholding the Constitution," the AUL leader adds.
Should her organization not like the answers, Yoest promises an immediate response.
"We will oppose any nominee to the Court who believes social activism trumps interpreting the Constitution," she says.
The letter, to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Pat Leahy, a Vermont senator, notes how President Barack Obama "has expressed a public commitment to reducing the frequency of abortion in the United States."
But Yoest worries his Supreme Court nominee will better reflect his pro-abortion record than his political rhetoric.
She says a high court pick who favors "elevating abortion to a fundamental right on the same plane as the freedom of speech would void common-sense abortion regulations that the vast majority of Americans support, like the prohibition on partial-birth abortion."
"Such a move would also require taxpayer funding of abortion, eliminate informed consent and parental notice and consent laws, state requirements that abortions be done only by physicians, and more," she added.
As a result, "a judicial nominee who intends to pursue such a radical agenda should be summarily rejected by the Senate."
Related web sites:
Americans United for Life – https://www.AUL.org
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