From: Austin Ruse -- Culture of Life Foundation [austinruse@culture-of-life.org] Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 3:14 PM To: FDADockets@oc.fda.gov Subject: Culture & Cosmos/US Bishops Considering Campaign on Pro-Life Judges Dear Colleague, A lot of folks bellyache about the US Bishops (too much if you ask me). One complaint is that the Bishops have not joined the debate about pro-life judges that has roiled the US Senate in recent years. As you know, Senate Democrats have established a litmus test to serve on the federal bench; you have to support abortion. Well, it looks like the Bishops Pro-Life Committee may be joining the debate. We report today on a just revealed proposal to launch a national campaign on judges. Spread the word. Yours sincerely, Austin Ruse President ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CULTURE & COSMOS January 11, 2005 Volume 2, Number 23 Cardinal Sends Strong Letter on Judges, May be Start of Larger Campaign A letter from Cardinal William Keeler to members of the United States Senate could be the opening salvo in a campaign by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to defend the principle that support of abortion-rights should not be a litmus test to serve on the federal bench. According to the letter, "Insisting that judicial nominees support abortion throughout pregnancy is wrong. By any measure, support for the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision is an impoverished standard for assessing judicial ability." The letter was delivered January 6 on the opening day of the new Congress. It is believed to be a part of a larger campaign that the Bishop's Pro-Life Committee asked the lay staff of USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat to draw up. The proposed plan, which was revealed in an email to a large list of news and Catholic contacts a month ago, asks the Bishops Pro-Life Committee to oppose the Senate Democrat's pro-abortion litmus test in confirming judicial nominations. Last year the Democrats refused 10 of President George Bush's judicial nominees for being what they called "extremist" on issues like abortion. Judicial nominees are expected to be a particularly contentious issue during President Bush's second term. He has re-nominated 20 of the judges who never received up or down votes on their confirmation during his first term. What's more controversial is that several vacancies are expected on the United States Supreme Court. The comprehensive proposal, which awaits final approval, calls for a national postcard campaign, emails by Catholics to Congress, paid advertising, regular columns and public statements, and inserts in Church bulletins. The national postcard campaign would be run by the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment, which is an independent program founded by the Bishops Conference that can rightly be called the Catholic grass roots as it is organized in every diocese and most parishes in the nation. Postcard campaigns led by the NCHLA resulted in 40 million postcards flooding Congress in support of a ban on partial birth abortion. The Bishops have been notably silent regarding the recent controversy over judicial nominations. This campaign, if it comes to fruition, would be the first time in recent memory that the Bishops would be so involved. In his letter, Cardinal Keeler, who is the Archbishop of Baltimore and the Chairman of the USCCB Pro-Life Committee, laments the way pro-abortion advocates have lobbied to make support of Roe a litmus test for judicial confirmation. "We are troubled by reports that national abortion advocacy groups, and even some U.S. senators, view nominees who oppose the purposeful taking of innocent human life as somehow unfit for judicial office in the United States. It is further reported that attempts would be made to deny them a vote on confirmation by the full Senate. "There is no doubt that the Catholic Church stands out for its commitment to the right to life from conception until natural death. . . . Our civil society will be all the poorer if Senators, as a matter of practice, prevent a Senate vote on well-qualified judicial nominees whose consciences have been formed in this ethic." Copyright 2005---Culture of Life Foundation. Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required. Culture of Life Foundation 1413 K Street, NW, Suite 1000 Washington DC 20005 Phone: (202) 289-2500 Fax: (202) 289-2502 E-mail: clf@culture-of-life.org Website: http://www.culture-of-life.org --- You are currently subscribed to culture-and-cosmos as: FDADockets@oc.fda.gov To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:leave-culture-and-cosmos-6591348L@lists.culture-of-life.org