NWPC OPPOSES ROBERTS’ CONFIRMATION

Contact:  Clare Giesen, Executive Director   202.785.1100 (office)   202.370.6306 (fax)  

Washington, DC — “After listening to several days of testimony from Judge John Roberts, we have come to the decision that we must oppose his confirmation as Chief Justice to the Supreme Court,” said National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) President Llenda Jackson-Leslie.

NWPC deliberately refrained from taking a position on Judge Roberts’ nomination until the hearings so we could assess his answers on matters crucial to American women.

We have been deeply dissatisfied by Judge Roberts’ testimony. It is clear that we do not know enough about where he stands on issues such as right to privacy and women’s reproductive rights. We do not believe that he can be entrusted with preserving the superprecedent of Roe v. Wade for our daughters and granddaughters. We do not trust that Judge Roberts’ will safeguard Americans fundamental right to privacy. And we have been further disappointed by the nominee’s evasiveness on the critical matter of equality.

We remain concerned about his philosophy on government programs to promote and protect gender equity. Many of Judge Roberts’ earlier writings on enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 raise grave questions about his willingness to safeguard democratic protections for all Americans. This Act has been directly responsible for the expansion of voting rights for women of color, but also has been a critical factor in the increased numbers of African American and Latina women elected officials. In 1970, five years after the passage of the act, there were 160 Black women elected officials; in 2001, that number was 3,200—a vast majority of them in southern states.

We had urged the Senate to institute a fair, open and thorough process, as this nomination is a lifelong position and deserves the highest level of scrutiny. Yet, we have been deeply disappointed by the White House’s refusal to release key documents from Roberts’ tenure as principal deputy solicitor general under President George H. W. Bush.

Since we cannot be confident that he will protect the rights of the American women, we are urging members of the Senate who support women’s equality and the preservation of women’s reproductive rights to vote no on Judge Roberts’ nomination.

We will be visiting those members of the Senate previously endorsed by NWPC and asking them to vote no as well as activating our local and state chapters to visit their senators in their home states.

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