Samuel Alito's Track Record Threatens Women's Rights
There are thousands of cases and documents involving Judge Alito and new information continues to be unveiled. These writings establish that Alito's judicial philosophy would turn back women's rights and reverse our progress toward equality.FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE: Judge Alito wrote the Third Circuit decision that Congress did not have the power to require state governments to comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act. Three years later, in an opinion written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist (Hibbs v. Nevada), the Supreme Court took the opposite position, upholding the right of Congress to require state and local governments to follow FMLA, referring specifically to the impact on women. Chittister v Department of Community and Economic Development, Alito opinion. Women across the country, worked for over a decade to enact a Family and Medical Leave law. If the Supreme Court had followed Judge Alito's reasoning, Congress would not have been able to require state and local governments to extend Family and Medical Leave benefits to their employees. Rehnquist and O'Connor were the deciding votes on that case, and replacing them with Roberts and Alito could reverse that decision and leave millions of state and local employees without FMLA protections.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: On abortion: As a justice department attorney, Alito wrote a memo laying out his proposal for the eventual overturning of Roe v. Wade, showing himself to be an advocate and potential architect of a Roe reversal. In 1991, going farther than any other judge on his circuit, Judge Alito argued that, under his interpretation of the Constitution, a state can require women to notify their husbands before they are allowed to have an abortion. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, Alito dissent. On birth control: In the same memo, Alito stated as fact that "certain methods of birth control are 'abortifacients,' i.e., that they do not prevent fertilization but terminate the development of the fetus after conception..." Conservatives have long argued that the IUD and birth control pills are abortifacients and should be outlawed. A woman's fundamental right to determine when and whether to bear children, including the right to birth control and abortion, will be in real trouble if we replace Sandra Day O'Connor with a Supreme Court justice who demonstrates such obvious hostility to our rights. Judge Alito would likely be the 5th vote to reverse Roe v. Wade, because his dissent in Casey shows that he is willing to stand alone in attacking a woman's right to reproductive choice.
SEX AND RACE DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE: Women fought to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1991 which, for the first time, gave women the right to a jury trial in sex discrimination and sexual harassment cases under Title VII. Our goal was to remove absolute power from judges in these employment discrimination cases, and let juries decide. Judge Alito's opinions consistently demonstrate that he would make it easier for judges to dismiss cases before they ever get to a jury, and would erect procedural hurdles for plaintiffs seeking justice in employment cases. Sheridan v. DuPont (dissent, sex discrimination), Bray v. Marriott Hotels (dissent, race discrimination). Even with the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, it is expensive and difficult for a woman or person of color to bring a successful employment discrimination case to court. In several strong dissents (including the two above), Judge Alito advocated making it even easier for conservative judges to dismiss these cases before they ever get to a jury. His opinions set up higher and higher hurdles for victims to meet before they could even get a chance to prove their case to a jury...read the full article at www.now.org
CA NOW's Young Feminists to Start Book Club/Blog
Online blog will feature book reviews, and feminist critique of popular TV shows and magazines. NOW members and anyone interested are encouraged to read along. The first book covered will be Citizen Girl by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. A work of fiction, it has been praised by the The New York Times as "Diabolically funny" and called "a national phenomenon" by Newsweek. Contact Kim at KAnderson93420@aol.com for more information.Pharmacists Refusing to Fill Contraceptive Prescriptions
An appearently growing number of pharmacists across the country are invoking their "conscience" to refuse to dispense prescriptions for birth control and morning-after medications. Reports of pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions from California to Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York,Texas and other states show how sinister the problem is, especially in rural areas, where there are no other drug stores within a day's drive. This blatent discrimination is especially hard on poor women who may not have the means to get to another pharmacy. The National Women's Law Center has launched at "Pharmacy Refusal Project" collection instances of prescription refusal. If you have been refused a prescriptions let them know at nwlc.org. *Equal Rights Amendment Re-Introduced into House
Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York has re-introduced the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), 23 years after the first one failed to win the required 38 stateapprovals within the 10 year deadline imposed in 1972. This amendment states that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied on account of sex. Read the amendments at www.equalrightamendment.org*
*For the full text of this article please see the July/August issue of the "Woman's Press" which is put out by the Women's Community Center at 880 Industrial Way, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 (805) 544-9313