Republicans, Pro-Life Groups Want Full Hearings on Elena Kagan Nomination
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 10, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Senate Republicans and pro-life organizations responded to President Barack Obama’s nomination of pro-abortion Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. They say she has no experience and little record to discern how she would rule on crucial cases.
They are calling for full hearings on Kagan’s nomination so she can be pressed about her judicial views.
"As we did with Justice Sotomayor last year, Senate Republicans will treat Ms. Kagan fairly," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
But McConnell promised that "she has been nominated for a lifetime appointment on the nation’s highest court, and we will carefully review her brief litigation experience, as well as her judgment."
"Fulfilling our duty to advise and consent on a nomination to this office requires a thorough process, not a rush to judgment," he said.
Kagan will likely receive a majority of the votes for her nomination, with Democrats holding a 59-41 vote advantage.
She may also receive support from some Republicans as seven GOP lawmakers voted for her nomination for Solicitor General: pro-life Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Jon Kyl of Arizona, and Dick Lugar of Indiana.
Pro-abortion Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine also backed her.
But whether any Republicans will support her promotion to the Supreme Court is another question — and they may be joined by Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson, who normally votes pro-life but supported the pro-abortion health care bill.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, called on the Senate to thoroughly examine Kagan, especially on abortion.
“Elena Kagan has no judicial record from which to determine her position on Roe v. Wade, but she has publicly criticized the 1991 Supreme Court ruling to allow the Department of Health and Human Services to restrict funding from groups that performed or promoted abortion, and has also criticized crisis pregnancy centers," she told LifeNews.com.
Previously, Elena Kagan publicly criticized a 1991 Supreme Court ruling in Rust v. Sullivan that upheld the right of the Department of Health and Human Services that restricted Title X funding from groups that performed or promoted abortion.
Additionally, she has expressed her belief that pregnancy centers should be barred from guiding teens in decisions about their pregnancy.
"Through the judicial confirmation process the American people must know where Elena Kagan stands on the abortion issue, and it is the responsibility of the U.S. Senate to find out," Dannenfelser added. "Kagan’s publicly demonstrated prejudices do not lend themselves well to blind justice."
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, also wants full hearings on Kagan’s views.
“This is the beginning of an important, deliberative process in which the American people deserve to know where Elena Kagan stands on the Constitution and the rule of law,” he told LifeNews.com.
"With the Senate’s constitutional role of providing ‘advice and consent’ regarding nominees, we call on the Senate Judiciary Committee to provide full and thorough hearings and ask the tough questions about Kagan’s past and how she views the role of Justices, the Constitution, and the rule of law," the pro-life attorney added.
Dannenfelser also warned the media not to say Kagan represents all women, because her pro-abortion views are at odds with the pro-life views of the majority of American women.
"Susan B. Anthony and her early feminist compatriots fought for a human rights standard sustained only through blind justice—and they knew that one group is never served by undermining the rights of another," she told LifeNews.com.
"Women will never be served by ignoring the rights of unborn children. When evidence of personal preference appears in any Supreme Court nominee’s judgment, it should give all women pause," she added.
Related web sites:
Susan B. Anthony List – https://www.sba-list.org
Petition Against Kagan – https://www.iopposekagan.com
Facebook: Stop Kagan
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