NARAL Pro-Choice America Announces Support for Sotomayor Nomination
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 21, 2009 NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice New York Announce Support for Sotomayor Nomination
Washington, D.C. – Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Kelli Conlin, president of NARAL Pro-Choice New York, today issued the following joint statement announcing the organizations’ support for the confirmation of President Obama’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. “President Obama made a sound choice in nominating Judge Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. From the beginning, we have said her nomination reflects the president’s commitment to ensuring that justices have strong legal credentials and understand how the law affects everyday people’s lives, including the need to keep politicians from interfering in our personal, private medical decisions. “As we outlined in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the fate of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance, and the addition of President Bush’s appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, has moved the court in a direction hostile to a woman’s right to choose. “Within the context of this change in the court’s makeup, we have examined Judge Sotomayor’s responses to privacy-related questions. We are pleased that Judge Sotomayor expressed stronger support for the established constitutional right to privacy than either Chief Justice Roberts or Justice Alito, both of whom had anti-choice records before being nominated to their current positions. She also articulated several times throughout the hearing that the constitutional right to privacy includes the right to choose. “In addition, we took into consideration the significant and strong support her nomination has garnered from some of our most committed pro-choice allies in the Senate as well as President Obama’s consistent record of support for Roe v. Wade and his established record of nominating to key posts individuals who share his principles. “After engaging in this especially deliberate and thoughtful process, we are pleased to have arrived at a position in support of President Obama’s first nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.” Contact: Ted Miller, 202-973-3032
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