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Alito's nomination concerns women's rights activists
Allison Stevens, Special to the NNPA from WomensEnews
Issue date: 11/10/05 Section: POLITICS
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''Lord,'' he said that morning as he led a small circle of supporters in prayer, ''we pray for a reversal of the scourge of Roe v. Wade.''
An evangelical Protestant minister and president of the National Clergy Council in Washington, D.C., Schenck was intent on drawing the eyes and ears of the national media to his opposition to the 1973 Supreme Court decision.
With Alito as associate justice, the country will be on course to reach the Religious Right's top three goals: recriminalizing abortion, outlawing gay marriage and acknowledging the role of God in public life, Schenck said.
But as Schenck knelt in prayer, he was not left in peace. A group of about 20 pro-choice protesters stood a few feet away, positioned under the motto ''Equal Justice Under the Law'' that is carved into the marble facade of the court.
''No! No! No! Alito will not Save Roe!'' the group shouted, brandishing placards and wearing T-shirts that said ''Save Roe!'' and ''Stand up for Choice.''
The encounter distilled the high-stakes struggle between women's rights activists and the religious right.
After Bush's personal lawyer Harriet Miers was forced to step aside as the president's high court nominee under pressure from anti-choice constituents, those arrayed against Roe are fairly sanguine about Alito.
''Any nominee who so worries the radical left is worthy of serious consideration,'' said James Dobson, founder and chair of Focus on the Family, a conservative advocacy group based in Colorado Springs.
In the volatile atmosphere of Washington, women's rights activists also sensed that a scandal- weakened Bush administration might provide a political opening.
Recently, the U.S. military death toll surpassed 2,000, a grisly milestone for a war that no longer enjoys support from the majority of Americans. Political support for the president, according to recent polls, has whittled down to around 40 percent.