Women's Rights: Choice Is On the Line This Election Day
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Your individual rights, which are protected by our Constitution and laws depend on having Supreme Court Justices who will uphold those rights. Your vote on Election Day ‘08 will help determine the future of women's rights for decades to come.
When Americans vote for a President and Senators this November, they'll be electing the people who will decide who gets a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court if there are any vacancies. It is likely that the President elected this fall will get to nominate one or more justices — and Senators will vote on whether to confirm them.
Here's why women's rights depend on the Court:
- Because President Bush nominated, and the Senate confirmed, two Justices willing to restrict a woman's right to privacy and reproductive choice, the Court has started to dismantle Roe v. Wade piece by piece. By a 5-4 vote, it allowed a ban on a specific abortion procedure with no exception to protect a woman's health.
- The same group of Justices restricted the ability of women to count on the federal courts for help when they are discriminated against on the job. Unless and until Congress passes a law to fix the one undermined by the Court, women who have faced illegal pay discrimination will have a much harder time seeking and obtaining justice.
- Earlier Court decisions protecting women's rights — such as protections against harassment while entering medical clinics — could now be struck down, especially if future nominees are not committed to upholding individual rights.
Right now, four Supreme Court justices — Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Scalia, and Thomas — share a right-wing ideology that undermines legal and constitutional protections for women. Conservative Justice Kennedy has voted with them often. It's likely that the next President will get to nominate at least one new Justice, and possibly more.
That's why it's so important that the next President nominates — and Senators confirm — only Justices who are committed to upholding the rights guaranteed by our Constitution and laws.
The addition of any more Justices who aren't committed to our rights could undo many of the gains that women have made over the past decades.
We can't let that happen. Help us save the Supreme Court on election day.