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RCRC Applauds Kagan Confirmation to Supreme Court

August 6, 2010

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) welcomes the confirmation of U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan as the newest associate justice on the United States Supreme Court. A distinguished lawyer and legal scholar with a reputation for fairness and thoughtfulness, she served as a clerk to Associate Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and was the first woman dean of Harvard Law School.

When she is sworn in, for the first time in history, three women will serve together on our highest court. This is an important milestone in our journey toward equal rights for women - and our nation will be stronger as a result.

RCRC is hopeful that Solicitor General Kagan will be a firm voice for protecting women’s reproductive rights against the ongoing assault from those seeking to overturn Roe v. Wade.

During her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Kagan demonstrated respect for precedent and protecting individual liberties.  When Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked: "Do you believe the Constitution requires that the health of the mother be protected in any statute restricting access to abortion?", Kagan replied, "I do think that the continuing holding of Roe [v. Wade] and Doe v. Bolton is that women's life and women's health have to be protected within -- in abortion regulation." (Source: Washington Post)

Prochoice People of Faith Hopeful as Kagan Nomination Approved by Senate Judiciary Panel

July 21, 2010

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Elena Kagan to be the fourth female justice yesterday. The vote was 13 to 6, along party lines.  Her nomination has been sent to the full Senate for consideration this month or in early August.  Senator Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) was the only Republican on the panel to support the nominee.  Kagan is expected to win confirmation within weeks.

President Obama has called on the Senate to confirm her before Congress takes a month long summer break starting August 7 — a deadline Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he looks forward to meeting.  (Source: Washington Post)

Some information about Ms. Kagan's views on abortion rights came out during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week on her nomination. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked: "Do you believe the Constitution requires that the health of the mother be protected in any statute restricting access to abortion?" she asked. Kagan replied, "I do think that the continuing holding of Roe [v. Wade] and Doe v. Bolton is that women's life and women's health have to be protected within -- in abortion regulation." (Source: Washington Post)

GOP Sens. Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Jeff Sessions (Ala) also questioned Kagan about abortion-related issues. Hatch asked Kagan about a memo she wrote as a domestic policy aide during the Clinton administration, when Congress was considering a ban on so-called "partial-birth" abortion. The memo said it would be a "disaster" if the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a finding that the procedure critics call partial-birth abortion was not the only option for preserving a woman's life or health.
Kagan told other White House staff members that they must insist that the group add language saying it might be the best option for the woman. Kagan said she insisted that both statements be included because she knew that was the position of the doctors’ group. In fact, she said, the group opposed the legislation that would ban the procedure. (Source: Washington Post)

Legal analysis released June 28, 2010, by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR)

According to the pro-choice legal organization Center for Reproductive Rights, some of Kagan’s recommendations while a clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall and member of the Clinton Administration would have had harsh consequences for women seeking abortions and were unconstitutional under then prevailing law.

CRR shows that while Kagan has clearly recognized the constitutional importance of protecting women’s health in her writings about access to abortion, some of the recommendations with which she concurred would have had harsh consequences for women seeking abortions and were unconstitutional under then prevailing law. The Center concluded that it is somewhat difficult to draw a firm conclusion about Kagan’s own legal views about the health exception for abortion. The Center’s analysis attributed this uncertainty to the fact that the available documents reflect political calculations and input from multiple people.