With Republicans now in control of the U.S. Senate, the fight to protect Roe v. Wade – the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion – clearly now will be waged on the Senate floor. Because Republicans will now chair and hold the majority of seats on the Judiciary Committee which votes on Supreme Court nominees and because the majority of Senators are anti-choice, pro-choice Senators will need to employ a filibuster strategy to block nominees once they reach the Senate floor. A filibuster strategy, where pro-choice Senators prolong debate to block a vote, can be used to stop a nomination because only 41 votes are necessary to sustain a filibuster.
Roe v. Wade hangs by a slim 5-4 margin on the Supreme Court. If one more anti-choice justice were to be appointed, Roe could be overturned. Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Thomas and Scalia argued against Roe in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, “We believe that Roe was wrongly decided, and that it can and should be overruled.” On Meet the Press, Bush promised to appoint justices in the molds of Justices Scalia and Thomas. Bush is already trying to stack the federal courts with anti-choice, conservative ideologues through his nominations to federal judgeships.
The Feminist Majority Foundation has launched the Never Go Back Campaign to raise public awareness about the threat to Roe on the Supreme Court and the importance of a filibuster strategy. Never Go Back is making stops in key cities across the country and featuring a cyber celebrity tour on its campaign website, www.NeverGoBack.org.
TAKE ACTION: Sign the Never Go Back petition and get involved at www.NeverGoBack.org
