Obama May Name Supreme Court Pick Monday, Likely Pro-Abortion Elena Kagan

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   May 7, 2010   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Obama May Name Supreme Court Pick Monday, Likely Pro-Abortion Elena Kagan

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 7
, 2010

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The buzz around Washington today is that President Barack Obama will likely announce his Supreme Court nomination on Monday. When he does, several news reports citing White House officials indicate he will select pro-abortion Solicitor General Elena Kagan.

If nominated, Kagan, a former Harvard Law dean, would replace retiring pro-abortion Justice John Paul Stevens.

Kagan is an ardent abortion advocate who, at 50, would leave a pro-abortion legacy for Obama on the Supreme Court for decades to come. She would confirm the suspicion of many political observers that Obama decided to go with a radical left-wing nominee while Democrats control the Senate with a huge advantage that is expected to deteriorate after the November elections.

Senate Republicans have already promised a tough fight against Kagan.

“Our nation deserves a Supreme Court nominee who is committed to deciding cases impartially based on the law, not on personal politics, preferences, or what’s in the nominee’s ‘heart,’” Sen. John Cornyn, a pro-life Texas Republican who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said last month.

However, the lack of a legal record makes it difficult for Republicans to criticize her on specific cases that constitute the legal records of other potential nominees who have served as lower court judges.

The current high court has a 5-4 split in favor of unlimited abortions via Roe v. Wade and Kagan would be expected to continue that.

Kagan was the dean of Harvard Law school and has spent most of her career in academia and government — in part as a legal counsel in the administration of pro-abortion President Bill Clinton –and prior to becoming the attorney for the Obama administration before the Supreme Court.

LifeNews.com spoke with Wendy Wright, the president of Concerned Women for America, who previously said Kagan was Associate Counsel to President Bill Clinton and Deputy Assistant to him for domestic policy — which, under Clinton, advocated abortion.

Kagan was credited by the ACLU with “shaping Clinton’s policy on hate crimes," Wright noted.

"The Clinton Administration treated pro-life activists like violent criminals, creating a task force in the Department of Justice and a grand jury to investigate peaceful pro-lifers. This raises serious concerns that she shares the hostile view that religious beliefs are a form of ‘hate,’" she said.

Kagan may be sympathetic to the views of internationalists, those who would impose international norms on Americans, including an unlimited abortion right.

"Abortion groups are actively attempting to create the impression that international norms require countries to provide access to abortion. During Kagan’s nomination hearing for Solicitor General, Senator Specter questioned her about the use of foreign sources of law in constitutional decision-making," Wright said.

Kagan said before: "At least some members of the Court find foreign law relevant in at least some contexts. When this is the case, I think the Solicitor General’s office should offer reasonable foreign law arguments to attract these Justices’ support for the positions that the office is taking."

But Wright responded to LifeNews.com: "A Supreme Court justice needs to be absolutely committed to the Constitution, proficient in their knowledge and ability to make rock-solid arguments on the basis of the Constitution and federal laws. If Elena Kagan needs to rely on foreign sources, it is an admission that her arguments are weak or she is incapable of handling the requirements of the office."

Kagan has also come under criticism from Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the pro-life women’s group Susan B. Anthony List.

She told LifeNews.com previously, "In the past Kagan has been a strong supporter of the pro-abortion agenda. She has vigorously opposed the de-funding of taxpayer-funded clinics which promote abortions, despite the fact that a majority of Americans do not want their tax dollars to fund abortion providers."

Although pro-life advocates would strongly oppose Kagan’s nomination, one indication she could face an easier time is that she is already getting support from phony pro-life advocates who back President Barack Obama and his pro-abortion nominees.

Catholic scholar and Obama ambassador to Malta Douglas Kmiec told the Daily Caller that Kagan is "not my first choice" but called her fair-minded when it comes to conservative legal advocates.

The only upside to the nomination is that Kagan would replace a consistently pro-abortion justice.

Pro-life advocate Gary Bauer has said: "Here’s some good news. By replacing Stevens, Obama, thankfully, is not going to change the ideological balance of the Supreme Court.

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