Knocking out the archaic term, thirty-five years ago the Berger-led Supreme Court decided in favor of Jane Roe, leading to freedom for women to choose for themselves if they wanted to have an abortion or not. Ever since that day, pro-life anti-choice advocated have sought to dismantle that freedom for women and they have been getting closer and closer, especially during the Bush Administration. The court as it stands today is on a precipice for allowing this law to remain on the books.
As a nation, we are about to decide on a President that will most likely pick one, two or even three new judges and either make the Roberts court more conservative or not. At the moment there are six viable candidates, and you should know where they stand.
From DailyKos:
- Hillary Clinton:
"I have an obligation to my constituents to make sure that I cast my vote for Chief Justice of the United States for someone I am convinced will be steadfast in protecting fundamental women's rights, civil rights, privacy rights, and who will respect the appropriate separation of powers among the three branches."
— Statement on the Nomination of John Roberts to be Chief Justice, September 22, 2005 - John Edwards:
"I must oppose [Judge John Roberts'] nomination to be our country's Chief Justice...I do so because we do know the views and positions he took prior to the recent hearings. Judge Roberts opposed efforts to remedy discrimination on the basis of sex and race. He opposed measures to protect voting rights. He denigrated the right to privacy and a woman's right to choose."
— E-mail to Supporters, September 21, 2005 - Barack Obama:
"I think that most Americans recognize that this is a profoundly difficult issue for the women and families who make these decisions. They don't make them casually. And I trust women to make these decisions, in conjunction with their doctors and their families and their clergy, and I think that's where most Americans are."
— Democratic debate, April 26, 2007 - Mike Huckabee:
Sometimes we talk about why we are importing so many people in our work force. It might be because for the last 35 years we have aborted more than 1 million people who would have been in our workforce had we not had the holocaust of liberalized abortion under a flawed of Supreme Court ruling in 1973."
(Excerpts from speech to Family Research Council Values Voters Summit, 10.20.2007) - John McCain:
"I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."
(Jim Davenport, Associated Press, 2.18.2007) - Mitt Romney:
"You cannot have a litmus test. But you can appoint justices that follow the Constitution and if they do that they'll overturn Roe v. Wade."
(Hannity & Colmes, Fox News, 9.5.2007)
Like MissLaura at dKos said, it might not be the only issue, but it should definitely weigh on ever voter's mind come November. Picking a Republican will most certainly strip this right from the 150 some million women in America, choosing a Democrat will most likely keep it in place.
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