Documents Reveal Alito is Wrong Choice for Supreme Court

Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy

November 14, 2005

"I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government argued … that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."
-Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, in a 1985 application to the Reagan administration

What more proof do women need?

Documents released today from Alito's work in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations prove that Alito would not be a justice women could count on to uphold our rights under the Constitution if he is confirmed to the Supreme Court.

In fact, Alito's remarks offer a virtual assurance that he will vote to scale back women's rights, beginning with the longstanding recognition that the very private decision to have an abortion must rest with the woman and not the government.

Up to this point, Alito has offered tepid assurance to senators that he has respect for court precedents like Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that legalized abortion, but he has never offered a guarantee that as a justice he will uphold the precedent. And with the release of these documents, Alito can no longer coast through confirmation on an ambiguous pledge. Women must urge their senators to oppose this nominee as a threat to our basic human and civil rights.

In the documents released today, Alito went on to say he was proud to have helped "advance legal positions in which [he] personally believe[s] very strongly." Women and women's rights supporters must not tolerate the advancement of a Supreme Court nominee whose personal beliefs will cloud his judgment on cases in which our lives and future hang in the balance.

Alito's rulings during 15 years as a federal court judge have already revealed his disdain for reproductive freedom, protections against employment discrimination, access to the Family and Medical Leave Act, and other individual rights and protections. But these documents offer a clear warning to women: If Samuel Alito is confirmed to the Supreme Court, the days of women's civil rights are numbered.

You needn't take my word for it. You can take his.

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Lisa Bennett, 202-628-8669, ext. 123; cell 301-537-7429

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