Rep. Moran on Supreme Court Abortion Ruling

By: Lowell
Published On: 4/18/2007 3:59:25 PM

Here's Congressman Jim Moran's reaction to the 5-4 abortion ruling by the Supreme Court today.  What happened today is what many of us have predicted for some time, that if we keep electing Republicans to the White House, eventually the Supreme Court will start rolling back Roe v. Wade.  For all those who say "elections don't matter," here's strong evidence that they most certainly do!

Statement on Supreme Court Ruling Threatening a Women's Right to Choose

Washington, D.C., April 18th - Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, issued the following statement regarding today's Supreme Court decision that may take away a women's right to receive an abortion in the second trimester.

"The Supreme Court's new lurch to the right was felt today, and women and their doctors are the ones who will suffer the consequences.

"A women's right to choose is under attack. This ruling threatens the ability of women to receive an abortion during the second trimester, basically inviting states to experiment with laws that would unravel Roe v. Wade. 


"Abortions should be safe, legal and rare.  The decision whether or not to have one should be left to the women and their doctors, not the will of ideologues."

By a 5-4 vote, the Court upheld a law passed by Congress in 2003 banning partial birth abortion.  The Court originally struck down the same law in 2000 because they determined it violated the landmark Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision.  This is the first time the Supreme Court has considered and ruled on a law banning a particular type medical procedure related to abortion.  Justice Sandra Day O'Connor leaving the Court last year and being replaced by Justice Samuel Alito has made the Court more conservative.

Also, here's what Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had to say:

In a bitter dissent read from the bench, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the only woman on the high court, said the majority's opinion "cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away a right declared again and again by this court, and with increasing comprehension of its centrality to women's lives."

She called the ruling "alarming" and noted the conservative majority "tolerates, indeed applauds, federal intervention to ban nationwide a procedure found necessary and proper in certain cases" by doctor's groups, including gyncecologists.

In 2008, it is absolutely imperative that we elect a Democrat to the White House.  If not, and if we have 8 more years of Republican (mis)rule, women can pretty much kiss their right to choose - and to control their own bodies - goodbye.

Comments



Moran Himself Repeatedly Voted To Outlaw Partial Birth Abortions (goodbyejim - 4/18/2007 4:59:26 PM)
Since my own website GoodbyeJim.com is on hiatus at least until November, forgive me if I use yours to skewer my elected rep.

Jim Moran is the last Democrat on earth who should be complaining about the Supreme Court's ruling outlawing partial birth abortions. Jim Moran himself during the Clinton years REPEATEDLY voted to outlaw this procedure. Jim Moran even voted to override President Clinton's veto of a a bill that outlawed the procedure.

Moran even said at one point that he, Moran was in favor of outlawing partial birth abortions because "I am not going to put my conscience on a shelf."

Although still a Moran voter in those years, I called up Moran's office to complain. The staffer said that there are always alternatives to partial birth abortions. I knew that to be untrue, because my wife had a friend who had one, and her doctor in her specific circumstance did not offer any alternative.

I tried to tell that to the true-blue Moran staffer, but the staffer kept repeating what must have been Doctor Jim Moran, MDs position that partial birth abortions could be done away with.

Now Moran is pontificating because the Supreme Court has adopted what just a few years back was Jim Moran's own strongly held position against partial birth abortions.

Well, in case you haven't suspected what is going on, let me tell you a little bit about what happened. It seems hard to believe nowadays, but just a few years ago, in 2004, there was an actual possibility that Jim Moran could get thrown out of office. The combination of Moran's personal loan scandals and his scapegoating of Jews combined to present that unique opportunity.

In the end Andy Rosenberg, who had never run for office before and only raised a third of what Moran spent (and Moran also gets free franking for his political mailings) came in at 41.5 percent in the June 2004 primary. Rosenberg carried the entire Hunters Mill district by ten percent.

Rosenberg also won 14 precincts in Arlington, about a quarter of them.

So in the spring of 2004 Moran recognized that he needed to shore up his support at the National Organization of Women. NOW had in the past refused to endorse Moran because of Moran's opposition to partial birth abortions.

Moran flipped and came out in favor of legalized partial birth abortions, announcing that he had reconsidered the matter and due to the extensive needs of women blah blah blah.

And almost immediately NOW endorsed Moran. One week a political staffer at NOW was telling me that NOW would not endorse Moran because many of his positions are not pro-choice, and the next week the staffer was leaving me a message telling me that NOW had endorsed Moran in the June primary.

You can't fight City Hall. NOW decided that Moran was going to win anyway, and made a deal with him.

But don't be fooled by Moran's bloviating on partial birth abortions. Having sought to outlaw partial-birth abortions  for MOST of his time in Congress Jim Moran is the last person in the Democratic Party who should be complaining about the Supreme Court's decision to outlaw the procedure.