A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released today found that three out of four Americans want President Bush to name a woman to replace Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court. The poll also found that 68 percent of Americans don’t want Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case legalizing abortion, overturned.
“The American people, and particularly American women, don’t want a nominee who will roll back women’s rights gains over the last 30 years,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority. “In 1981, I testified on behalf of Justice O’Connor because I knew then that O’Connor, although a conservative voice, would not permit the elimination of women’s fundamental rights, including the right to privacy.”
“We are urging President Bush to appoint a woman who will not reverse women’s rights to take O’Connor’s place,” said Smeal. “We cannot go back to just one woman on the highest court in the nation. The era of tokenism is over.”
The poll also showed that almost two-thirds of those surveyed believed that Bush was likely to nominate someone who would be inappropriately influenced by his or her religious beliefs, according to USA Today.
LEARN MORE Read Ms. magazine’s Urgent Report on the Looming Fight Over the Supreme Court
