Roundup: Obama Announces Sonia Sotomayor As Supreme Court Nominee

Obama names Sotomayor as Supreme Court nominee; Wendy Wright badmouths White House's "common ground" effort; contraceptive sponge to return to market.

 

Obama Names Sotomayor Supreme Court Nominee
Earlier today, President Obama chose Second Circuit Appeals Court Judget Sonia Sotomayor as his Supreme Court nominee.  The New York Times’s Caucus Blog has more on her background and the nomination process, and SCOTUSblog
has a run-down on her opinions.  Here’s how SCOTUSblog characterizes
Sotomayor’s decision on an abortion rights case that did not directly
address the legality of abortion, but rather the constitutionality of
the global gag rule:

Abortion Rights:  Although Sotomayor has not had a case dealing directly with abortion rights, she wrote the opinion in Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush,
304 F.3d 183 (2d Cir. 2002), a challenge to the "Mexico City Policy,"
which prohibited foreign organizations receiving U.S. funds from
performing or supporting abortions.  An abortion rights group (along
with its attorneys) brought claimed that the policy violated its First
Amendment, due process, and equal protection rights.  Relying on the
Second Circuit’s earlier decision in Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. v. Agency for International Development,
which dealt with a virtually identical claim, Sotomayor’s opinion
rejected the group’s First Amendment claim on the merits.  Turning to
the plaintiffs’ due process claim, Sotomayor held that they lacked
standing because they alleged only a harm to foreign organizations,
rather than themselves.  Sotomayor held that the plaintiffs did have
standing with regard to their equal protection claim, but she
ultimately held that the claim failed under rational basis review
because the government "is free to favor the anti-abortion position
over the pro-choice position" with public funds.

Meanwhile, LifeNews reports that "In a weekend interview, the number two Republican
in the Senate confirmed a potential filibuster is still on the table
vis-a-vis a potential pro-abortion nomination from President Barack
Obama for the Supreme Court…[Sen. John] Kyl
said Republicans would follow through with a filibuster if Obama nominates
someone who would legislate from the bench by following Obama’s "empathy"
guidelines for issuing rulings instead of the rule of law."

 

Sotomayor emphasized her respect for the rule of law in her remarks following Obama’s introduction of her this morning.

 

Wendy Wright Badmouths White House’s Common Ground Effort

ABC News offers a window into the White House’s "common ground" effort on abortion rights.  ABC writes, "Today, however, one of the conservative activists attending these
meetings said she [Wendy Wright, of Concerned Women for America] didn’t buy it, and she wrote about the meetings about
which many attendees had been asked not to share details."

Writing at the conservative Web site Human Events, Wright recounts the meeting in an essay titled, "Obama Aide: Not Our Goal to Reduce Abortions."

Barnes led the meeting and as "the dialogue wound down, she asked
for my input," Wright writes. "I noted that there are three main ways
the administration can reach its goals: by what it funds, its messages
from the bully pulpit, and by what it restricts.  It is universally
agreed that the role of parents is crucial, so government should not
deny parents the ability to be involved in vital decisions.  The goals
need to be clear; the amount of funding spent to reduce unintended
pregnancies and abortions is not a goal.  The U.S. spends nearly $2
billion each year on contraception programs — programs which began in
the 1970s — and they’ve clearly failed.  We need to take an honest
look at why they are not working."

Wright writes, "Melody testily interrupted to state that she had to
correct me.  ‘It is not our goal to reduce the number of abortions.’
The room was silent. The goal, she insisted, is to ‘reduce the need for
abortions.’"

Contraceptive Sponge to Return to Market

After appearing and disappearing from the market several times in recent, years, the contraceptive sponge will go back on shelves in the coming weeks, the New York Times reports.  The market for the sponge is expected to be far smaller than for hormonal birth control, but "Still, past experience indicates that the sponge will have a clientele
among women who seek control over their own contraceptives and the
convenience of a product that does not require a doctor’s prescription," the Times reports.

The Times adds that the failure rate of the sponge is 10 percent.

Other News to Note
May 26: Monsters and Critics: One-in-three New Zealand 16 year-olds had sex, survey reveals

May 25: Dallas Morning News: The pain of abortion

May 25: New Vision (Uganda): MPs to meet Catholic leaders

May 25: LifeNews: New Jersey Governor Race Tightens as Christie and Lonegan Focus on Abortion

May 24: LifeNews: Pro-Life News: Planned Parenthood, Abortion, Arizona, Texas, Wisconsin, India, Virginia

May 25: News & Star: One teenage abortion a day in Cumbria

May 25: Catholic Culture: US bishops renew call for universal health care without abortion

May 25: Cape Times: ‘Abortion doctor’s’ activities to be probed

May 25: Irish Medical News: Students support OTC emergency contraception

May 24: LifeNews: Pro-Life News: Obama, Reducing Abortions, Denmark, Chicago, Kansas, Northern Ireland

May 25: Indian Express: Family planning

May 24: Arizona Daily Sun: Most abortions used as birth control

May 24: The Connecticut Day: Pregnancy Centers Open Door To Reducing Abortions

May 24: Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Many delay plans for baby

May 24: Philadelphia Inquirer: Abortion rights: Yes. Focus on improving women’s health and sex education.

May 23: NPR: Christian College Drops Approval Of Democrats Club

May 24: Philadelphia Inquirer: Does abortion allow for common ground?

May 23: Houston Chronicle: Reviews of Notre Dame in

May 23: WSLS 10 Roanoke: Liberty University Democrats group reluctant to accept Falwell proposal

May 23: Dallas Morning News: On Abortion: Pro-choice advocates were born

May 24: Yakima Herald: President steps into nationwide debate over abortion

May 23: Catholic News Agency: Cardinal George asks Obama to deliver on ‘conscience protections’ promise

May 23: ThinkProgress: The Evolution of Public Opinion on Abortion

May 23: Catholic News Agency: Wisconsin considers plan to expand ‘family planning’ program to teen boys

May 23: Real Clear Politics: Obama’s Roe Problem

May 23: LifeSiteNews: A Little Child Shall Lead: 12-Year-Old Pro-Life Lia Speaks at March for Life

May 22: Kansas City Star: Parkinson vetoes funding cut for Planned Parenthood

May 22: Catholic Culture: Fordham, too, honors prominent pro-abortion political leader

May 23: Daily Observer: Many young people joined the ranks of participants in pro-life rally in Ottawa

May 23: Anniston Star: Anthony Cook: When abortion ceases to be an option

May 22: Evening Star: Pharmacies join fight against STIs

May 22: Feministing: Blame the Oven, Not The Cake

May 22: Newsday: Is there a middle on abortion?

May 22: CBS News: Liberty University Revokes Recognition Of Democratic Club

May 22: HuffPo: Mexico Anti-Abortion Laws On The Rise

May 22: LifeNews: Pro-Life Advocates: Washington Assisted Suicide Death Shows Pain Control Need

May 22: Daily News:
Why abortion consensus is unlikely: The strange dynamics of this hot-button issue

May 22: AP/Seattle PI: Anti-abortion group may take P. Parenthood space

May 22: Philadelphia Bulletin: Obama, Abortion And The Line Between Life And Liberty

May 22: Kaiser Network: Vaginal Ring Could Protect Against HIV, Researcher Says

May 22: Belfast Telegraph: Northern Ireland women going to Holland for cheaper abortions