NATIONAL WOMEN'S POLITICAL CAUCUS VOTES TO OPPOSE ALITO

National Executive Committee Unanimous in Decision

Washington, DC…In light of recent documents released by the Reagan Presidential Library and previous Court of Appeals rulings, the NWPC Board has voted unanimously to oppose the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Although we would prefer to withhold judgment in this matter until after we have heard Alito’s testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, we believe that there is clear and unambiguous evidence that Alito would not maintain the delicate balance that Justice Sandra Day O’Connor brings to the court.

He has plainly stated in writing that he believes the Constitution does not protect abortion rights and that expecting a woman to receive permission from her husband to obtain an abortion does not pose an undue burden. This is unacceptable.

As a nonpartisan organization, we attempt to follow a policy of reserving opinion on political and judicial appointments until hearings have commenced, as we did in the case of Chief Justice John Roberts’ nomination. The Caucus did not oppose Roberts until he finished testifying.

We believe, however, that this nominee is different from Roberts. Alito comes with a longer and more detailed paper-trail then Roberts did. We felt that it was imperative for us to act without hesitation to rally our members and encourage them to lobby their Senators to reject this nominee. Reproductive rights hang in the balance and we cannot afford to wait and see.

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