INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER:
Statement from the International Action Center
On the Nomination of John G. Roberts to the Supreme Court
July 19, 2005
Tonight, George W. Bush has signaled his intention to continue his all-out assault on women, working people, lesbian/gay/bi/trans communities, civil liberties and civil rights. It is vital that we examine the
nomination of John G. Roberts, and ask how such a reactionary appointment could be made and, more importantly, how we can push back the Bush attack and what
social and political forces can be mobilized in the struggle
Judge John G. Roberts has built his career advancing the far-right agendas of the Reagan and Bush Administrations. He has worked to overturn abortion rights, blur the separation between church and state, undermine
affirmative action, and advance a narrow right-wing interpretation of the Constitution.
Roberts is a member of two prominent, right-wing legal organizations that advance a reactionary legal philosophy: the pro-corporate, anti-affirmative action, and anti-union Federalist Society; and the National Legal Center For
The Public Interest, a legal research group funded by General Motors, Ford, Texaco, Exxon-Mobile, and Gulf, as well as right wing millionaire Richard Mellon Scaife.
Women’s Rights
Immediately after President Bush announced his selection of Roberts, Operation Rescue, an organization founded to terrorize women, obstruct reproductive freedom, and shut down health clinics, issued a press release saying, “Operation Rescue supports this selection. Roberts has shown strong conservative credentials with indications that he will not uphold Roe v.
Wade, the 1973 case that decriminalized abortion.”
The anti-choice homophobe Gary Bauer promptly issued a statement hailing Roberts as "a refreshing nominee who possesses an outstanding record of judicial accomplishment as well as a commitment to judicial restraint
long missing from so many activist courts."
Roberts’ record makes it clear why he has gathered such enthusiasm from far-right religious fundamentalists.
As Deputy Solicitor General, Roberts filed an amicus curiae brief in the National Organization of Women’s (NOW) case against Operation Rescue — in support of Operation Rescue, and in support of individuals who illegally
blocked access to clinics.
As Deputy Solicitor General, Roberts argued in a brief before the Supreme Court that "we continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled. The Court’s conclusion in Roe that there is a fundamental
right to an abortion...finds no support in the text, structure, or history of the Constitution."
As a Deputy Solicitor General, Roberts co-wrote a Supreme Court brief in Rust v. Sullivan, which argued that the government could prohibit doctors in federally funded family planning programs from discussing abortions
with their patients.
Workers Rights
Roberts was lead counsel for Toyota in Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Ky, Inc. v. Williams. This case involved a woman who was fired after she asked Toyota for accommodations to do her job after being diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. The court ruled that while this condition impaired her ability to work, it did not impair her ability to perform major life activities.
The Geneva Conventions
Roberts was part of the three-judge panel that last week upheld President Bush's military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, supporting the Bush Administrations assertion that the Geneva Conventions and other international law did not apply to detainees held there. Neal K.
Katyal, a lead lawyer for one of the plaintiffs in this case and a Georgetown University law professor, called the decision "contrary to 200 years of constitutional law."
Civil Rights
After a Supreme Court decision effectively nullified certain sections of the Voting Rights Act, Roberts was involved in the Reagan administration's effort to prevent Congress from overturning the Supreme Court's action.
Roberts also filed an amicus brief in Adarand v. Mineta in Oct. 2001, supporting a challenge to federal affirmative action programs.
The Environment
As a member of the Solicitor General's office, Mr. Roberts was the lead counsel for the United States in the Supreme Court case Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation, in which the government argued that private citizens could not sue the federal government for violations of environmental
regulations.
In his private practice, Roberts has also represented numerous large corporate interests opposing environmental controls. He submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the National Mining Association in the recent case Bragg
v. West Virginia Coal Association.
Church & State
While working with the Solicitor General's office, Roberts co-wrote an amicus brief on behalf of the Bush administration, in which he argued that public high schools can include religious ceremonies in their
graduation programs.
Our response: Organize and Mobilize!
The only effective counter to Bush’s continued assault on working people, people of color, women, and on civil liberties and civil rights is to organize a massive opposition movement in the streets.
We cannot look to politicians of either party to stop Bush—the Democrats have been nearly unanimous in their support of the Bush agenda of endless war and repression, and they have confirmed some of the most backwards and
reactionary judicial appointees.
These next few months are critical in the struggle against the war abroad and the war at home. The Bush agenda is facing a genuine crisis—the illegal occupation of Iraq is clearly failing in the face of overwhelming popular
resistance, military recruiting is declining, and opposition to the war is growing. What we do now can make a difference.
Now is the time to build a massive movement of resistance, a movement that is broad because it includes, rather than excludes, the struggles of all oppressed communities.
In challenging the Bush agenda and mobilizing to defend our rights, it is important to recall how we have secured victories in the past. In a nation founded on slavery and indentured servitude, genocide against indigenous
peoples, and oppression of women and working people, every advance was won because of the power of massive peoples’ mobilizations to assert and demand those rights. Regardless of which corporate party is in power, or
which corporate lawyer is appointed to the Supreme Court, it is the people who ultimately make history.
All of the most important victories for working people, for the civil rights struggle, for women, for the lesbian/gay/bi/trans communities, and for all
oppressed communities were won because of organizing in the streets.
Victories in the courts and legislatures merely reflected the reality that was created by the mass movements. It was resistance- the Montgomery bus boycott, the Stonewall rebellion, the Flint sit-ins for union rights,
the massive marches for women's suffrage, and many other protests, marches, strikes and direct actions--that secured our rights, and it is in that spirit of resistance that we must continue to struggle.
The International Action Center
July 19, 2005
PLANNED PARENTHOOD, again....
Urge Your Senators to Investigate Judge Roberts' Record
Roe v. Wade: Saving Women's Lives Since 1973
Dear xxxxxx,
Last night President Bush nominated John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court. This nominee raises serious questions and grave concerns for women's health and safety. Planned Parenthood is urging senators to ask tough questions to determine whether Roberts believes in constitutional protections for women's health, safety, and privacy — and you can help us get to the truth.
Contact your senator NOW and urge her or him to require answers about Roberts' views on a woman's right to privacy, health, and safety.
You can make a difference. With your help, we can ensure a thorough debate before a justice is confirmed to a lifetime appointment to our nation's highest court. The stakes are too high to allow senators to confirm Roberts without an extensive investigation into his beliefs about vital civil liberties. The American people deserve nothing less.
Also, please consider making a donation now. As always, we need your support to continue our lifesaving programs to protect reproductive rights and access to health care. At the same time, we must ensure a judicial confirmation process that recognizes the importance of women's health and safety.
Karen Pearl
Interim President,
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
On behalf of the Planned Parenthood community
Roe Hangs in the Balance
Since the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision, the number of justices willing to stand up for choice has decreased.
» 1973
Roe was decided: Seven Justices supported a woman's right to choose.
» 1992
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey was decided: we were down to five Justices who supported a woman's right to choose.
» 2000
Stenberg v. Carhart was decided: The court was split five to four, with five ruling that a woman's health must be the paramount concern. With O'Connor's resignation, only four of the five justices who upheld access to abortion in Stenberg remain on the court.
We are only one vote away from losing the protections for women's health guaranteed by the Supreme Court in Roe, and John Roberts could be that deciding vote. Urge your senator to require answers about Roberts' views on a woman's right to privacy, health, and safety.