The Supreme Court needs another woman justice
Since the announcement of Justice David Souter’s retirement, everyone’s been buzzing about the question of the day: will President Obama nominate a woman to the bench? And should he?
Our answer? YES! And we’re not alone. Several top women’s organizations are urging the President to add another woman to the Supreme Court. Why? Here’s just some of the reasons why the Supreme Court needs another pro-reproductive justice woman:
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg is lonely. She’s the only woman on the nine-person Court.
- The Supreme Court currently holds four anti-choice men.
- Justice Souter stood on the side of women many times. His replacement should do the same.
- Women constitute over 50% of our population - and only make up 17% of Congress and hold only one Supreme Court seat.
- Roe v. Wade. Reproductive justice.
- Obama’s pick will serve a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, affecting our country even beyond his presidency.
- Equal representation of women in all levels and branches of our government is essential to the success and health of our nation.
WCF President/CEO, Sam Bennett, had this to say in reaction to Souter’s retirement:
“It is unacceptable that the United States currently ranks 72nd in the world for women holding elected office. America should serve as a leader in gender parity, instead of lagging behind.”
“President Obama has the chance to lead us into an era where women have equality in power and representation in the United States.”
Join us in asking President Obama to nominate a woman to the Supreme Court. The President has made strides toward gender parity in the women he’s chosen for his administration. Let’s keep the momentum going. It’s time to bring the assumption that most people in power are men to a screeching hault. The bench and our country need more women in power.
Tags: Choice, justice souter retirement, nominate, president obama, reproductive justice, ruth bader ginsburg, Supreme Court, woman
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 2:24 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 6th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the only Supreme Court Justice who understood what young Savannah went through when her principal and school nurse strip-searched her. Ms. Ginsburg burst forth passionately, with many instances of her knowlege of the injustice and abuse that was done to the traumatized girl.The men on the Supreme court were at a total loss in the matter, sighting instances of having undressed for Gym, going skinny-dipping as kids, and the like, wrongfully expressing that these incidences were somehow comparable. There is a thoroughness and a vigilence about women, indeed an unwillingness to be oblivious, that is urgently needed on the Supreme court.
May 11th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Some have argued that since Justice Souter has been a liberal voice on the court, that President Obama’s pick won’t really change the makeup of the court. However, if he chooses a younger, progressive woman, he can help to ensure that the liberal voice of the court can remain strong for a long time to come and that the new justice, whomever she may be, will embody the empathy that President Obama so eloquently described.
May 27th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Hooray for the president and Sotomayor. It is so great to see another woman nominated for the court–and a latina one at that! I think another woman should be appointed to fill the next vacancy as well (assuming Ginsburg sticks around)….I would love to see at least three women up there.