Women’s Coalition for Justice: Conservative Women Leaders Speak Out on Sotomayor

Members of the Women’s Coalition for Justice released the following statements in advance of the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor beginning next Monday.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List, stated,

“Women are best protected by the rule of law — and blind justice. Their rights are most endangered when personal preference, ideology or painful personal history inform judgment. Susan B. Anthony and her early feminist compatriots fought for a human rights standard sustained only through blind justice. When evidence of personal preference appears in any Supreme Court nominee’s judgment, it should give all women pause. Sonia Sotomayor’s record of support for judicial activism and her work for the pro-abortion Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund offer little comfort that she will be a friend to the unborn on the Supreme Court. Given what we know about Sonia Sotomayor’s own judicial philosophy, including her support of policymaking from the bench, senators have just cause to reject her appointment to the United States Supreme Court.”

Genevieve Wood, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, The Heritage Foundation, stated,

“I am troubled by Judge Sotomayor’s rejection of Justice O’Connor’s favored adage that a wise old man would reach the same conclusion as a wise old woman. It is deeply offensive that she has suggested that the sexes and ethnicities ‘have basic differences in logic and reasoning,’ and even more offensive that she believes it is somehow patriotic to indulge in gender or ethnic biases. Her statements raise grave concerns about whether she can truly be impartial and the current defense that she simply endorses including different perspectives doesn’t hold water. The Senators must ask challenging questions to determine whether she believes that a wise woman can reach the same conclusion as a wise man, or whether she intends to bring bias, as she has suggested, even to most cases.”

Connie Mackey, Senior Vice President for FRCAction remarked,

“I reject the admonition of Senator Chuck Schumer that opposing the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor will cause the Republican Party to lose women’s vote permanently. I believe his crystal ball is cloudy when it comes to women in America. Women think independently and most women will see that Sonia Sotomayor is a judicial activist who will use the courts to make policy reflective of her own personal judgments as opposed to ruling based upon the tenets put forth by the Constitution. Her career as an activist is well-documented and disqualifies her from taking the 9th seat on the United States Supreme Court.”

Charmaine Yoest, President and CEO of Americans United for Life remarked,

“It’s important for the American people to understand that the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court will dramatically shift the dynamics of the Court. Her record of activism in support of a radical pro-abortion agenda is clear and documented. This is a judge with a record significantly worse than Judge Souter’s. We are asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to seriously consider the consequences of confirming a Supreme Court justice whose radical record shows she would rule against all common-sense legal protections for the unborn, including parental notification, informed consent and bans on partial- birth abortion. The American people will not tolerate a nominee who is outside the mainstream of American public opinion.”

Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee stated,

“Sonia Sotomayor’s record reveals she lacks the primary characteristic required of a judge — impartiality. She has used her position as a judge to deny equal justice to people based on their ethnicity. She worked with organizations that aggressively fought against common-sense regulations on abortion. Her flippant dismissal of cases and unwillingness to provide Constitutional reasoning for her decisions exposes her arrogance, disrespect for our judicial system and the people whose lives are dramatically impacted by her decisions. Through her work as a judge and in organizations, she has denied people equal opportunity to make a living because of the color of their skin, preborn babies their right to live, and women the right not to be exploited by abortionists. After giving her the benefit of the doubt, her record of giving preferences to certain classes of people and denying equal justice to others obliges Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee to oppose her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sonia Sotomayor has disqualified herself from the U.S. Supreme Court. Senators need to set aside their party loyalty and do their Constitutional duty to uphold equal justice for all by opposing Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination.”

Also see Worse than Souter: Judge Sonia Sotomayor on Abortion & Other Life Issues

 

Catholic Priest Arrested at Catholic University for Upholding Catholic Values: Obama to Receive Honorary Ph.D. Later Today

The following is a video of Father Norman Weslin’s arrest at Notre Dame University on Friday May 15, 2009, for protesting abortion. Protesters have been going to Notre Dame this week to protest President Obama’s speech during the commencement ceremonies, and especially the conferment of an honorary doctorate on the President. Obama is the most pro-abortion President in our Nation’s history and has a record of supporting not only abortion on demand but also the procedure known as “partial birth abortion,” which is controversial even among “pro-choice” advocates.

 

(Hat-Tip Lisa Miller)

 

Catholic Church Leader Holds B. H. O. Accountable

Finally, a high ranking Catholic Leader has spoken out against those who have gone against Christian Doctrine [pay attention, Pelosi] and supported Abortion [emphasis added]:

“This is Bishop Rene H. Gracida, reminding all Catholics that they must vote in this election with an informed conscience. A Catholic cannot be said to have voted in this election with a good conscience if they have voted for a pro-abortion candidate. Barack Hussein Obama is a pro-abortion candidate.“

Just a quick reminder that B.H.O voted against the “Born Alive Infant Protection Act.” That would have stopped the practice of letting babies who survived botched abortions die in hospital closets, voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Act, and has vowed to sign the “Freedom Of Choice Act,” that would make null and void any previous law that restricted abortion-on-demand throughout the entire 9 month pregnancy term.

Here are more videos concerning abortion for the folks who believe a picture is worth a trillion words.

Cornell University College of Engineering Staff Stifle Student Free Speech; Updated: Police Force Return of Signs; Updated: Students Defend their Story

UPDATE 10/24/08: We received the following today from Tristen Cramer:

CORNELL COALITION FOR LIFE STANDS BY EARLIER STATEMENT
Pro-Life Student Organization Responds to University Administration

In response to statements made by Cornell University’s administration, the Cornell Coalition for Life (CCFL) stands by their earlier press release as a fair and accurate description of the events of Wednesday, October 22.

“It is incredible that putting up signs explaining that a baby’s heart first beats 25 days after fertilization and other biological facts could lead to this situation. We are surprised and disappointed to see that the administration has decided to issue a statement denying that the staff members acted improperly instead of simply apologizing and admitting that the Elena Campaign should not have been removed in the first place,” stated Tristen Cramer, senior at Cornell and former president of CCFL.

The “Elena Campaign”, a series of educational signs detailing the biological facts of fetal development, was improperly removed by a staff member of the College of Engineering at approximately 9AM on Wednesday. Despite the fact that the president of CCFL immediately
provided proof of administrative approval for the display, the signs were not returned to the organization until an hour and a half later.

Though the staff then admitted that the proper approval was in place, the students were strongly encouraged by the Associate Dean of Administration not to resume the display because of an “unwritten policy” regarding opinionated displays on the Engineering Quad.

UPDATE 10/22/08: From Adam Kissel, of FIRE’s The Torch:

Thanks to a quick-thinking administrator outside the College of Engineering and to the Cornell Police, the violation of the students’ expression rights lasted scarcely two hours. But who knows how long Warren and Dove would have held out if the police had not come to enforce the students’ rights.

ORIGINAL POST 10/22/08: Facilities Staff Remove Previously Approved Pro-Life Display

We received the following from Tristen Cramer, a senior at Cornell University:

Less than one hour after the Cornell Coalition for Life (CCFL) set up their “Elena Campaign” signs in the Engineering Quad, the signs were abruptly removed by Dawn Warren, an administrative assistant, and taken to the Facilities Office of the College of Engineering. The “Elena Campaign” is a series of light-hearted educational signs with pictures and text detailing the biological development of an unborn child. Though CCFL had gone through the proper administrative avenues to get approval for the display, Warren removed the signs without permission because she did not personally approve of the content.

Tristen Cramer, senior at Cornell University and former president of CCFL stated:

“It borders on the absurd that the facilities staff at the College of Engineering finds photos depicting biological fetal development to be controversial or offensive. Furthermore, it speaks volumes that this member of the Cornell staff chose to censor speech she disagreed with rather than facilitating an open discussion about the issue.

“The Cornell community should be aware that our right to free speech regarding relevant current issues is hindered by this so-called ‘unwritten policy.’”

Together, Dawn Warren and Cathy Dove, Associate Dean for Administration in the College of Engineering, attempted to prevent members of CCFL from retrieving the signs. Only when the Cornell Police were brought in did Warren and Dove relinquish the property. Even then, Dove tried to intimidate the students and requested that the signs not be put up again, referencing an “unwritten policy” among the College of Engineering to prevent “opinionated displays.”

Katherine Weible, junior at Cornell University and current president of the CCFL said,

“As an engineering student, I am surprised and disappointed that some of our staff would censor the issues that we are exposed to. In their claims that all engineering displays must be engineering related, they are severely short-changing all engineering students.”

For more information about the Cornell Coalition for Life or about the Elena Campaign, email Tristen Cramer.

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Also see:

• Leslie Carbonne: Cornell v. Elena
• Blue Collar Muse: Cornell University Staff Stifle Students’ Free Speech
• LifeNews: Cornell University Officials Remove Students’ Abortion Display After Approval
• Publius Forum: Cornell Staffer/Dean Oppress Student’s Free Speech
• Marginalized Action Dinosaur: Cornell university sez no free speech, early adopters of the fairness doctrine.
• Newsbusters: Media Ignores Cornell Staffer & Dean Oppressing Student’s Free Speech
• Stop the ACLU: Cornell Staffer/Dean Oppress Student’s Free Speech
• American Conservative Daily: Cornell Staffer/Dean Oppress Student’s Free Speech
• The New Media Alliance – Warner Todd Huston: Cornell Staffer/Dean Oppress Student’s Free Speech

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Following are the signs that were used.

Senator Barack Obama’s record on protecting life

Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) voted repeatedly to deny the unborn and survivors of abortion their basic rights. Four times as an Illinois legislator, he voted against laws that would have ensured equal medical care for babies that survive an abortion attempt.