Roundup: Where Does Sotomayor Stand on Abortion Rights?
May 28, 2009 - 12:29pm (Print)
Where Does Sotomayor Stand on Abortion Rights?
Is she or isn't she a reliable vote for women's right to abortion? Reproductive rights advocates are not so sure about Sonia Sotomayor, the New York Times reports today. "Because Judge Sotomayor is the choice of a president who supports abortion rights at a time when Democrats hold a substantial majority in the Senate, both sides in the debate have tended to assume she could be counted on to preserve the Roe decision," Charlie Savage reports. But "[n]ow, some abortion rights advocates are quietly expressing unease that Judge Sotomayor may not be a reliable vote to uphold Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 abortion rights decision." And according to Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary, Obama did not ask Sotomayor about her position on her abortion rights "specifically."
The Chicago Tribune adds that "Unlike most of the finalists for the job, Sotomayor has never ruled on abortion or taken a public position in favor of abortion rights." The Tribune spoke to the Center for Reproductive Rights's Nancy Northup, who said, "I simply don't know Judge Sotomayor's view on Roe v. Wade. I will be very concerned if the question is not asked and answered during the Senate hearings."
The Washington Post describes the locus of most of the conservative furor in response to her nomination:
Meanwhile, conservatives have seized upon Sotomayor's unscripted moments to make the case that she is outside the mainstream. The two most often quoted are a statement she made about how appellate judges make policy and her observation about how being a Latina affects her role as a judge: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
The Post observed that "[Nancy] Northup joked that her organization and the National Right to Life Committee had reached rare agreement -- both think the Senate needs to probe Sotomayor's position on abortion, although previous nominees have found it easy to dodge the question."
Oklahoma Bans Sex-Selective Abortions
Catholic Online reports that Oklahoma's Governor Brad Henry has signed a law banning sex-selective abortion in the state. Catholic Online adds, "In addition to 'prohibiting the performance of an abortion solely on account of the sex of the unborn child,' House Bill 1595 also requires abortionists to provide the Oklahoma State Department of Health with detailed information on each abortion performed" including the "the mother's age, marital status and education level, as well as the number of prior pregnancies, reason and method of abortion, and the nature of the mother’s relationship with the child's father." Illinois and Pennsylvania also outlaw gender-selective abortion.
Other News to Note
May 28: Catholic Culture: New Oakland bishop lauds jailed African-American pro-life pastorMay 27: Kansas City Star: A truce on abortion?
May 28: ABC News (Australia): Children's Minister asks for law review
May 27: AP: Hispanic theologian chosen for Vatican ambassador
May 27: ABC News (Australia): Underage sex laws could be 'tweaked'
May 28: LifeSiteNews: Thirteenth Mexican State Passes Pro-Life Amendment
May 27: Local12.com: Teens Should Not Face Child Porn Charges For "Sexting"
May 27: LifeNews: Louisiana Senate Committee to Consider Pro-Life Medical Conscience Clause Bill
May 27: LifeNews: Final NIH Comments on Embryonic Stem Cell Research From Pro-Life Attorneys
May 27: LifeSiteNews: New Evangelical Documentary Exposes Abortifacient Qualities of the Birth Control Pill, Promotes NFP
May 27: BeliefNet: NARAL's Cryptic Response on Sotomayor
May 27: U.S. News & World Report: Obama Woos Catholics With Nuanced Abortion Talk
May 27: Getreading.co.uk: Teenage abortion rates fall by more than a quarter
May 27: LifeNews: Hispanic Pro-Life Advocate Challenges Sotomayor to Reflect Culture on Abortion
May 27: Boston Globe: Would you buy condoms for your kid?
May 27: UPI.com: Canada drops abortion sniper prosecution
May 27: This is Cheshire: Abortion rate rises in Warrington
