Samuel Alito: Wrong Judge for U.S. Women

"Senate Judiciary Committee Must Take its Job Seriously"
Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy

January 8, 2006

On Monday, January 9, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin the confirmation hearings of Samuel Alito, George W. Bush's nominee to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The National Organization for Women calls on the 18 members of this committee to take their role in our democratic balance of powers seriously, and not simply rubber-stamp Bush's choice for the high court. Quite simply, Alito is the wrong judge at the wrong time for women and for the country.

The United States should be moving forward, not backward, in the struggle for equality and justice for all. Yet Alito's extensive record of more than 300 decisions and writings demonstrates that he would narrow many of the civil rights, environmental and employment protections passed by the Congress, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Those of us who still dream of an even playing field in this nation - in the workplace, at school, in the courts - will be watching as the Senate Judiciary Committee questions this nominee. The public needs to hear where Alito stands on sexual harassment and sex discrimination, affirmative action, abortion and birth control, equal educational opportunities, and all the issues that can make a lasting difference in the lives of women and girls. If the U.S. Senate ushers Samuel Alito onto a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court, it could take a generation to undo the damage to our rights.

This month, hundreds of students and community activists from across the country are traveling to Washington, D.C. at their own expense, giving up vacation time and semester breaks to volunteer their time and to tell their senators just how disastrous an Alito confirmation will be for their lives and their future. I hope every senator, regardless of party, will listen to their constituents, whose rights hang in the balance. They will remember in November.

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Mai Shiozaki, 202-628-8669, ext. 116; cell 202-641-1906

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