NARAL President speaks on judicial appointments

WASHINGTON – National Abortion Rights Action League President Kate Michelman, in a Nov. 7 press statement, warned that with the White House and Congress in ‘anti-choice hands’ NARAL expects the president to move aggressively to ‘pack the courts with conservative ideologues in order to appeal to the far right wing of his party.’

Michelman said the consequences of approving far-right judicial nominees will go beyond the present generation and will have a profound impact for generations to come.

But Michelman called on the public and elected officials to challenge these appointments. ‘NARAL fully expects President Bush to select nominees who appease the far right wing of his party and serve his own stated desire to have government make abortion illegal. We also fully expect pro-choice Senators to exercise their Constitutional duty to advise and consent and scrutinize all judicial nominations,’ she said.

‘It would be a serious breach of the public’s trust for President Bush to abuse his power to undermine reproductive rights. NARAL fully intends to fulfill our own obligation to educate Americans about judicial nominees’ views and mobilize pro-choice opposition to any attempt to restrict a woman’s freedom of choice.

‘NARAL’s challenge is to protect and defend a woman’s right to choose in what is unquestionably one of the most hostile political environments we have ever faced,’ Michelman concluded.