Kagan Hearing Highlights Need for a Supreme Court that Supports Access to Abortion as a Constitutional Right
(PRESS STATEMENT) Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from anti-choice witnesses opposing the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan. Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, issued this statement in response.“It is the Senate’s responsibility to explore a nominee’s judicial philosophy, including her views on Roe v. Wade, and it is the nominee’s responsibility to educate the Senate and the public about where they stand on this critical issue.“As Solicitor General Kagan recognized during her testimony, the Supreme Court has the last word on our constitutional rights – including the constitutional protections in Roe v. Wade for a woman’s decision to terminate a pregnancy. This year alone, the anti-choice movement has become particularly aggressive in pushing some of the most radical legislation in recent history, including measures that attack Roe head-on. The Supreme Court will be sitting in judgment of the novel test cases on abortion rights that are bubbling up from the states.“Over the last several days, the Senate Judiciary Committee spent very little time discussing the constitutional protections for reproductive rights. In line with the analysis we produced of her written public record, General Kagan affirmed her general support for the current contours of the law. “In a notable moment of substance, General Kagan expressed her support for the continued salience of the robust protections for women’s health in any regulation on abortion, as expressed in the landmark cases of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton.“Last night, anti-choice witness Charmaine Yoest, President of Americans United for Life, turned that statement on its head, claiming that General Kagan’s reference to these longstanding precedents was a cause for concern. “In her testimony, Dr. Yoest was critical of General Kagan’s support for a health exception to abortion regulations. Yet General Kagan’s affirmation of Roe and Doe demonstrated a commitment to firmly established constitutional principles that have had a profound impact on the lives of American women. Roe and Doe, as well as subsequent decisions affirming the constitutional basis for abortion rights, have enabled women to participate more fully in society, to make decisions about when and whether to bear children, and to safeguard their health and lives.”