Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy of Massachusetts passed away last night. He suffered from a brain tumor and after undergoing surgery he was unable to recover. Kennedy was one of the most influential members of the US Senate in US history. His name marks almost every large piece of legislation to affect progressive change since the 1960′s.
He often said health care reform was the “cause of his life.” In the face of the current debate over health care reform that has become increasingly violent and politically divisive, the liberal guard must band together to pass legislation including a public option for health care insurance. Besides the fact that health care reform is overdue, I say we do it for Teddy! Stand with President Obama, write to your senators and representatives and demand the passage of legislation including a public insurance option, as well as the inclusion of abortion and family planning care.
Take up the torch that Kennedy tirelessly carried on health care reform. Read the truth about health care reform and how it impacts women and families on the NARAL Pro-Choice Washington website. You can also write to your representatives from this site and make your voice heard.
Operation Rescue has its newest target: Dr. Leroy Carhart in Nebraska. Dr. Carhart provides abortions and also performs late term abortions just as Dr. Tiller did in Wichita, KS. Anti-choice extremists are launching an attack against Dr. Leroy because he is unafraid to perform abortion and protect the rights of the women and families who need them.
Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor begin Monday, July 13. At first the pro-choice community knew nothing about her record on choice and how she might vote on an abortion case. Unfortunately, we still have no hard evidence. We cannot make assumptions, but over the past few months of the media, congress, and non-profit organizations investigating her record have revealed she may have a progressive bent to her thinking and she may even resemble the legal demeanor of her predecessor, Justice David Souter, which was mindful of precedent, progressive and critically thinking. 
. The city seems to have rightfully pulled the test as a faulty (biased) basis for promotion. 
Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s record on abortion is virtually non-existent. The closest she has come to a decision on reproductive rights is the case of Center for Reproductive Law & Policy v. Bush. This case is situated around the Global Gag Rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy, that Bill Clinton repealed, George W. Bush re-enacted, and President Obama repealed. This is a very important policy because its enactment prohibits the US from funding organizations providing contraception, sexual health information, and abortion overseas. I am careful to say this case is “situated around” the global gag rule, since the ruling found by Sotomayor, and a panel of two other judges, has largely been interpreted as an opinion which upholds precedent. In other words, this case should not be used as an indicator of how Sotomayor might rule on an abortion case to uphold or overturn Roe v. Wade.
