Nation's Leading Pro-Choice Advocate Raises Concerns Over Gonzales ...

... Nomination; Nominee Imposed Anti-Choice Litmus Test on Federal Judges

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- NARAL Pro-Choice America, the leading national advocate for personal privacy and a woman's right to choose, today called on senators to question Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzalez about his role in President Bush's policy of using an anti-choice "litmus test" to fill federal courts with opponents of a woman's right to choose and right to privacy.

NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan said, "We have grave concerns about Mr. Gonzales' views on a woman's right to choose. The American public has a right to know that the nation's highest law-enforcement official will recognize Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. Senators should ensure that Americans individual freedoms are not trampled. They deserve better than another Attorney General like John Ashcroft who subpoenaed women's private medical records."

If confirmed as Attorney General, Mr. Gonzales would have great power over a number of issues affecting the women's right to control their own lives and decisions. He will be responsible for enforcing laws such as the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), which provides doctors and women with critical protection from anti-choice violence. He would also make important decisions with respect to litigating the Federal Abortion Ban. Senators should not rubber-stamp his nomination without getting strong assurances that he will enforce laws protecting women's rights even as President Bush seeks to overturn them.

During the time Mr. Gonzales was in charge of picking judges for President Bush, not a single supporter of a woman's constitutional right to choose has been nominated to a circuit court of appeals. In contrast, nearly a third of the Administration's 52 appellate nominees are anti-choice activists. <snip>

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=41266