This waa forwarded to me from the Religious Coalition for Choice, to which I belong. For those who are interested in these things...
Vince > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >Debate on Court Nominee Centers on Abortion > >July 22, 2002 >By NEIL A. LEWIS > >WASHINGTON, July 21 - The White House is heading toward a >confrontation with Senate Democrats and their allies in >liberal advocacy groups over President Bush's effort to >give a federal appeals court seat to a conservative state >judge from Texas with a strong judicial record opposing >abortion. > >When Justice Priscilla Owen of the Texas Supreme Court >appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, >her confirmation hearing will be the latest display of the >the continuing battle between Mr. Bush and the Democrats >who control the Senate over the ideological shape of the >federal courts. > >Dominating the debate about Justice Owen's fitness for the >appeals court is the complex question of the courts' role >in interpreting abortion laws. The debate over her >nomination may set a pattern for future judicial >nominations, including those for any nominees to the >Supreme Court, where abortion is likely to be an issue. > >As a member of Texas's highest court, Justice Owen has >staked out a strongly anti-abortion legal approach, notably >in her largely unsuccessful efforts to make it difficult >for a minor to obtain an abortion without her parents' >permission. > >In addition, there is evidence that she may have been >chosen for the spot over another candidate explicitly >because of her anti-abortion views and her closeness to >Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, who >engineered her 1994 election to the Texas court. > >Justice Owen is expected to be closely questioned about her >dissenting opinions in cases interpreting a Texas law that >allows teenagers to seek a judicial bypass; that is, a >court's permission for an abortion without having to tell >their parents. The law provides that a minor can obtain a >judicial bypass if she demonstrates that she is well >informed, mature and would suffer if she informed her >parents. > >The White House and Justice Owen's Republican supporters >are greatly concerned that the prime piece of evidence that >opponents will use to say she is unsuitable for the post on >the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit >comes from the White House counsel, Alberto R. Gonzales, >who once served with her on the Texas Supreme Court. > >In the first of the cases interpreting the statute allowing >for a judicial bypass, Justice Owen was one of three >dissenters who said the majority's standards for minors to >be granted a court's approval for abortion were not >stringent enough. She had earlier written that she believed >a minor would have to demonstrate that she knew there were >religious objections to abortion and that some women who >underwent abortions had experienced severe remorse. > >Mr. Gonzales, then a justice on the court, wrote that the >reading of the law by the dissenters was "an unconscionable >act of judicial activism." > >In a recent interview, Mr. Gonzales sought to minimize the >impact of his remarks. He acknowledged that calling someone >a "judicial activist" was a serious accusation, especially >among Republicans who have used that term as an imprecation >against liberals. > >"I know what President Bush expects in nominees, and I am >absolutely confident that she will do her job in a way that >is consistent with the president's philosophy of judging; >that is, interpreting the law and not legislating from the >bench," he said. "She will exercise judicial restraint and >understands the limited role of the judiciary." > >He said his comments in the abortion case were the result >of a strong disagreement over how to interpret a new law. >"In this case, we both looked at the statute and disagreed, >but this in no way detracts from my belief that she will be >a fine judge," he said. > >Kate Michelman, the president of the National Abortion >Rights Action League, said Mr. Gonzales could not wash away >the significance of his remarks in the June 2000 case. "It >shows she is even outside the conservative stream of the >Texas Supreme Court," Ms. Michelman said. "She was trying >to push the court to require even more obstacles for the >most vulnerable people" seeking an abortion. > >All members of the Texas court were Republicans at the >time. Mr. Gonzales also wrote that as a parent he was sorry >that the Legislature had not made it more difficult for a >minor to obtain an abortion, but that he was obliged to >accept the law as enacted "without imposing my moral views >on the decisions of the Legislature." > >There appears to be another abortion dimension to the Owen >nomination. Mr. Gonzales acknowledged that the White House >had considered another woman on the Texas Supreme Court, >Deborah Hankinson, for the spot on the Fifth Circuit, which >is based in New Orleans. Justice Hankinson was on the other >side of the abortion rulings about parental notification. > >Lawyers in Austin, liberals and conservatives, said in >interviews last week that Justice Hankinson had freely told >them that someone in the White House told her she was taken >out of consideration explicitly because of her rulings in >the teenage abortion cases. She was out of the country and >her office said she was unavailable for comment. > >According to press reports and interviews with Texas >lawyers, Justice Hankinson and Mr. Gonzales were close >colleagues on the court, both having been appointed by Mr. >Bush when he was governor. Justice Owen, on the other hand, >was an ally of Mr. Rove's when she ran for the Supreme >Court. Records at the Texas Ethics Commission show that she >paid Mr. Rove $247,390 to help run her successful campaign. > > >Mr. Gonzales declined to discuss whether he had pushed for >Justice Hankinson and Mr. Rove had favored Justice Owen. >Mr. Rove also declined to comment. > >In addition to objecting to her views on abortion rights, >liberal advocacy groups have raised questions about the >relationship of Justice Owen's opinions to donations she >received from Texas corporations, including Enron. > >Justice Owen, who was elected in 1994 with the help of an >$8,600 donation from Enron, later wrote a majority opinion >that reversed a lower court order, saving the company about >$225,000 in taxes. > >http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/22/politics/22OWEN.html?ex=1028377717&ei=1&en=32d28b5ca464a51b
