Pro-Abortion Group NARAL Endorses Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court Spot
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 21, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — One of the nation’s largest pro-abortion groups announced today that it is supporting the nomination of appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. NARAL said that the hearings the Senate Judiciary Committee held last week show Sotomayor will support unlimited abortions.
The pro-abortion group said Sotomayor showed during the hearings that she more strongly embraced the Roe v. Wade decision that allowed virtually unlimited abortions compared with Chief Justice John Roberts or Justice Samuel Alito, the previous two nominees.
The group also noted that Sotomayor said several times during the hearings that she believed privacy rights were well-established and that they included a right to abortion.
Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL, said, "We are pleased that Judge Sotomayor expressed stronger support for the established constitutional right to privacy than either Chief Justice Roberts or Justice Alito."
"She also articulated several times throughout the hearing that the constitutional right to privacy includes the right to choose," Keenan added.
Keenan also praised pro-abortion President Barack Obama for selecting her.
"President Obama made a sound choice in nominating Judge Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court," she said in a statement LifeNews.com received.
She admitted that the decision to endorse Sotomayor was based in part on his pro-abortion credentials.
"In addition, we took into consideration … President Obama’s consistent record of support for Roe v. Wade and his established record of nominating to key posts individuals who share his principles," she said.
"From the beginning, we have said her nomination reflects the president’s commitment to ensuring that justices have strong legal credentials and understand how the law affects everyday people’s lives, including the need to keep politicians from interfering in our personal, private medical decisions," Keenan continued.
Keenan appeared to believe Sotomayor would provide a pro-abortion counter-balance to Roberts and Alito, who are believed to be likely to support overturning Roe and who have already upheld the national ban on partial-birth abortions.
"The fate of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance, and the addition of President Bush’s appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, has moved the court in a direction hostile to [abortion]," she said.
Sotomayor has come under opposition from most pro-life groups because of all of the evidence showing she would likely support abortion on the high court.
They also point to her involvement in a pro-abortion group that repeatedly called on the Supreme Court to allow all abortions paid for at taxpayer expense.
Last month, Sotomayor made a comment during a meeting with one senator that also sent shockwaves throughout the pro-life community.
Senator Jim DeMint, a pro-life Republican from South Carolina, says he had a "good meeting" with the appeals court judge, but he came away with a telling comment.
"When I asked if an unborn child has any rights whatsoever, I was surprised that she said she had never thought about it," he said. "This is not just a question about abortion, but about respect due to human life at all stages — and I hope this is cleared up in her hearings."
Sotomayor has also come under fire for saying she regretted the adoption of a Congressional bill that prevented the Legal Services Corporation from spending taxpayer funds litigating in favor of abortion.
Two key pro-abortion senators have also said they think she will uphold unlimited abortions if confirmed to the high court.
Roe v. Wade, handed down in 1973 along with Doe v. Bolton, allowed abortions throughout pregnancy for virtually any reason and has resulted in more than 50 million abortions since then.
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