Lost in the shuffle in the last week of the most recent session of the Senate was news that another one of President Barack Obama’s pro-abortion nominees was confirmed.
The U.S. Senate last week confirmed four of President Obama’s long-pending nominations to positions at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including the nomination of pro-abortion activist Chai Feldblum as a commissioner.
The EEOC enforces federal laws barring discrimination in employment and the Obama appointment could impact abortion as it relates to employment issues.
Feldblum isn’t known by most Americans, but she worked for the pro-abortion Human Rights Campaign Fund and, from 1986-1987, was a legislative counsel for the pro-abortion ACLU.
She also clerked for Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, the infamous judge who handed down the Roe v. Wade decision that has allowed more than 53 million abortions.
Tom McClusky, of the Family Research Council, says Feldblum fits into the “radical category.”
Noting her pro-abortion position, several pro-life groups, including Focus on the Family, the Traditional Values Coalition, the Liberty Counsel, and the American Family Association, signed onto a December 2009 letter to lawmakers saying they ”strongly oppose” Feldblum’s nomination.
Concerned Women for America, on its web site, says Feldblum ”represents one of the most serious threats to religious freedom we have seen in a long time” and the Traditional Values Coalition urged its members to call Senate Committee members to oppose the nomination.
Candi Cushman, an analyst for Focus on the Family, says Feldblum is outside the mainstream of American views.
“Through these recent appointments, President Obama is pandering to activists,” she said. “The president nominated Georgetown law professor Chai Feldblum to serve on a commission that enforces the nation’s federal employment laws. This is disturbing.”
Patrick Reilly of the Cardinal Newman Society said he is also concerned and cited an EEOC ruling saying Belmont Abbey College must provide the coverage for contraception, even though it violates Catholic teachings.
“The news of Feldblum’s nomination is especially noteworthy for Catholics given the EEOC’s recent infringement on Catholic Belmont Abbey College’s religious liberty by claiming it discriminated against women when it removed contraceptive coverage from its employee health insurance plan,” he said. “If confirmed by the Senate, Feldblum would serve on the EEOC for five years and could decide cases related to abortion.”
Feldblum has been criticized for praising Blackmun to the New York Times as someone who had the “ability and desire to look behind the law and see the people.”
“He brings a sense of caring and compassion that will be missed,” she said after his retirement.
