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Call to Action to Protect the Court

ve8QAd   |   June 15, 2016

As the nation stands upon the precipice of major political change, both in the executive and judicial branches of the government, it’s critical that pro-life issues are brought to the forefront.

It’s no secret that Barack Obama has been the most forceful pro-abortion president in American history. With his efforts to usher in Obamacare as an everyday norm and nominating tenacious pro-abortion judges to the highest court, his aggressive efforts have continued to hinder the pro-life movement.

Now, more than ever, we need to encourage our pro-life senators to answer the call to action and stand firm in their pro-life stance as President Obama continues to thrust his so-called middle-of-the-road judicial nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, into the limelight to heighten pressure on Republican senators.

The Significance of Scalia

Protect Court

As a nation, we mourned earlier this year over the unexpected passing of Justice Antonin Scalia. His strong conservative appeal echoes in the cases he handled as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and only further emphasizes how critical it is to the pro-life movement that the nominee chosen to replace him is equally pro-life.

Justice Scalia was vocal in his dissent of Roe v. Wade, referring to it as a case in “absurdity” and often indicating his desire to have the case overturned. In Hodgson v. Minnesota, Scalia reiterated his stance that the right to abortion is not in the constitution, going as far as to say, “I continue to dissent from this enterprise of devising an Abortion Code, and from the illusion that we have authority to do so.”

So where does the loss of Scalia leave the pro-life community? Reeling.

With the nation’s highest court now evenly divided in a four-to-four split, the balance of power has shifted and, with it, America’s ethical and moral codes are left swinging in all directions.

That is why it is so critical that Scalia’s replacement nominee possesses the same leadership qualities and fundamental values that are present in the backbone of the constitution and in Justice Scalia himself.

Executive Influence

President Barack Obama has already appointed two SCOTUS justices that have extreme pro-abortion mindsets. His current nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, is notoriously hush-hush in regard to most controversial issues, but especially pro-life issues.

In a Time article, written earlier this year, clerks that had previously worked intimately with Garland were hard-pressed to identify the judge’s stance on abortion. However, one did claim that Garland’s strong respect for legal precedent was a hearty implication as to what direction he would lean, if given the choice. In other words, Garland would most likely be disinclined to overturn Roe v. Wade considering his stalwart deference to the government in previous cases.

Knowing so little about Garland, the public is left to inform their opinion of him via President Obama’s judgement.

And we all know where President Obama stands in regards to the 323,999 innocent lives killed by Planned Parenthood in one year alone. His open-arms display of affection for the pro-abortion movement leads pro-lifers to assume Garland is, at best, indifferent to the carnage inflicted on our nation.

Hold Firm

In light of President Obama’s controversial compromise in choosing a moderate nominee for the open SCOTUS seat, it’s critical that senators remain true to their pro-life stance as recent Gallup polls continue to show that Americans believe abortion should be limited.

Furthermore, regardless of what liberal pro-abortion media is reporting, Republican senators have been vetting Garland informally for weeks. This form of informal interviewing style is typical during the judicial nomination process, as senators familiarize themselves with the Supreme Court nominee before the irreversible decision is weighed in a public forum.

Therefore, the nomination impasse isn’t due to Republicans refusing to consider Garland’s nomination, it’s because they are slowly but surely vetting him and find him lacking.

According to U.S. Senator Patrick J. Toomey (R., PA), “Based on a number of decisions and my conversation with Judge Garland, I’m not convinced that he would be willing to play the role of a sufficiently aggressive check on an administration.”

Senator Toomey hit the nail on the head. With Justice Scalia, the public knew where he stood. Garland’s ability to play his cards close to his chest may be one reason the Democrats love him has a nominee, but Republicans are much more interested in a leader who doesn’t wish to maintain a low-profile on hot-button issues.

What’s at Stake

As reported in the last issue of Life Issues Connector, there is a lot riding on today’s current political climate. With Justice Scalia’s seat presently vacant and four Supreme Court Justices over the age of 67 – the average age for Supreme Court retirement being 69 – the nation is looking at five potential vacancies within the next four to eight years.

Meaning, the next president will potentially have the power to create a 7-2 Supreme Court that caters to their personal ideology. Simply put, if the next president appoints four or five young justices, his/her party’s philosophy will be almost guaranteed control over the Supreme Court for an entire generation.

That’s why it’s critical that Republican senators maintain their strong pro-life positions, regardless of liberal media’s insinuations that they are not fulfilling their duties.

Rallying the Troops to Protect the Court

With a Republican majority in Congress, pro-life groups are rallying to support their pro-life representatives. In Iowa, nearly 4,000 petitions arrived at Senator Chuck Grassley’s office, urging him to maintain his strong resolve. Pressed by his community, Grassley has verified that he won’t be considering Judge Garland for the open SCOTUS position.

Perhaps the most vocal and consistent in his declaration to not consider President Obama’s nomination is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., KY). According to McConnell, Obama nominated Garland “not with the intent of seeing the nominee confirmed, but in order to politicize it for the purpose of the election.”

In what is being dubbed as an act of “political theater,” the president’s choice seemed to be carefully orchestrated in such a way that would decisively tip the balance of the Court’s decisions on abortion and other issues in the favor of President Obama’s political party.

With this in mind, now is the time to urge the Senate Republican leadership to hold fast to the promises that they made to their pro-life citizens and to answer their call to action. Their first duty is not to appease the president with a quick and easy selection process. Rather it’s to make an informed decision to ensure that the most qualified jurist is appointed to the Supreme Court. If their decision takes an inconvenient amount of time for the current executive administration, then so be it.

Today the pro-life community must not be meek! We must take a stand and our senators must stand with us! Now is the time to answer the call to action and contact your senators. Visit lifeissues.org/contact-legislators for your senators’ contact information. Call, write, or even visit to express the significance and urgency of their pro-life stance. Don’t let another moment go by where we, as a pro-life community, could be saving lives!

If you enjoyed this article from the 2016 issue of Life Issues Connector, then you might like some of the following links:

*Photo of Justice Scalia: By Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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