delcodem

Liberally Yours
2003-05-05 19:04:38 (UTC)

Democrats Stand Up to President Bush and His Judicial Nominees

This week was again very contentious in the United States
Senate as Republicans attempted to confirm more of
President Bush’s right-wing anti-choice judicial nominees.
Democrats entered their third month of filibuster on the
nomination of Washington D.C. lawyer Miguel Estrada and
announced they will use the same tactic to block the
nomination of Justice Priscilla Owen of Texas. On
Thursday, Republicans failed to end debate on Priscilla
Owen only garnering 52 of the 60 votes needed to advance
her nomination to the full Senate. Three previous votes on
Miguel Estrada have produced similar results. It is clear
Democrats are firm on these two nominees and are sending a
clear message to the president. Right-wing judicial
activists will not be confirmed for lower courts, and they
will not be confirmed for the U.S. Supreme Court should an
opening become available.

While Estrada and Owen have received much of the press
concerning judicial nominees, Democrats are already
criticizing two other anti-choice judges who have not yet
made it to the entire Senate. Carolyn Kuhl, nominated by
Bush to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San
Francisco, has been criticized by Democrats for her
attempts to rescind reproductive rights. NARAL Pro-Choice
America notes, “Kuhl’s anti-choice record is not simply
that of an attorney representing clients, but that of an
energetic and creative activist, who has worked for radical
changes in the law” representing her conservative agenda.

Another judicial nominee, Alabama Attorney General Bill
Pryor, has generated similar controversy. President Bush
has nominated Pryor to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in Atlanta. However according to Kaiser Network,
Pryor, a Republican, “has spoken out against Roe v. Wade
and (in 2002) convinced a federal judge to implement more
quickly a new Alabama law requiring abortion providers to
give women” information concerning abortion risks and
alternatives. Democrats will likely fight the nominations
of both Kuhl and Pryor, but to what degree? Senate
Minority Leader Tom Daschle noted this week that Democrats
must be extremely selective about the nominees they choose
to block due to the negative political ramifications that
could occur.

As Pro-Choice Americans, we must support the Democrat
filibuster of Priscilla Owen and Miguel Estrada. We must
also continue to voice our disapproval of President Bush
and the Republican politicization of the judicial process.
The president’s attempts to stack lower courts with anti-
choice judges and the Republican Senate’s willingness to
confirm them undermine the impartial judiciary branch we
need to maintain reproductive freedoms in the 21st
Century.




Ad: