THE 22%ERS:

Here Comes John Roberts, There Goes Roe v. Wade: Supporters of abortion rights prepare for the worst as chief justice wins confirmation (Sharon Lerner, September 29th, 2005, Village Voice)

If you believe in reproductive choice, you might be crying yourself to sleep these days, as you’ve watched the conservative Ken doll also known as John Roberts sail toward appointment as our country’s most powerful judge. Or perhaps you’ve been pulling your hair out as you've heard pundit after pundit try to fill in the big blanks in what Roberts has said about how he’d rule as chief justice on the country’s most pressing issues. But maybe, just maybe, you’re doing what some of the most diligent women’s groups in this country are now doing: dispensing with the tears and angst, rolling up your sleeves, and trying to figure out what to do after Roberts takes the helm of the Supreme Court—courtesy of a 78-22 vote on Thursday that included the support of 22 Democrats.

Practical types probably don’t harbor many illusions about Roberts. This is a man, after all, who supported a memorial service for aborted fetuses as “an entirely appropriate means of calling attention to the abortion tragedy.” He’s married to a woman who serves as the lawyer for and is a major donor to an anti-abortion activist group. And he’s referred to Roe v. Wade, the ruling that established the right to abortion back in 1973, as “wrongly decided” and based on “the so-called right to privacy.” So even if they’re hoping for the best, pro-choice court watchers are no doubt assuming the worst.

Which is not to say anyone has given up the fight. NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and the National Organization for Women are just some of the groups that vehemently opposed Roberts, trying to call attention to his evasiveness when it comes to his real feelings about several established laws of the land, including the right to abortion.

And their vehemence swayed 22 Senators, all Democrats.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 5, 2005 8:21 PM