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January 5, 2006
US Supreme Court
The appointment of Samuel Alito as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice could have dire effects on a woman’s right to choose abortion.

Ipas announced today that it is opposing the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Counter to the principles established by the Bill of Rights — created to protect Americans from the tyranny of the majority — Judge Alito has demonstrated hostility to reproductive rights throughout his career.  The Supreme Court has determined that under the U.S. Constitution, state laws may not place an undue burden on a women’s right to terminate a pregnancy. However, Judge Alito has shown that he will allow particularly heavy burdens, such as a Pennsylvania requirement that a woman must notify her husband before obtaining an abortion. 

While sitting on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, Alito authored a dissenting argument to uphold the Pennsylvania law, on the grounds that the undue burden standard does not apply when only a “small group” of women are affected.  But it is in just these cases — when a woman fears abuse, is estranged, or for other personal reasons can not involve her husband in the decision — that protection is most needed.

Previously, in his work for the Reagan administration, Alito had helped to craft a strategy to dismantle the protections afforded by Roe v. Wade.   This 1973 Supreme Court ruling legalized abortion in all 50 U.S. states, nearly eliminating hundreds of annual deaths and many more injuries from unsafe abortion.  While applying for a promotion, Alito expressed pride in his contribution to cases in which the administration argued “that the Constitution does not protect a right to abortion.”

Ipas Executive Vice President Barbara Crane said, “It is profoundly disturbing that a potential U.S. Supreme Court Justice would care so little about women’s lives and their basic rights.”

In some parts of the world where abortion laws are more restrictive, nearly 70,000 women die from unsafe abortions every year.  Ipas works with partner organizations and healthcare providers to end these deaths through improved health care services, laws and policies.  In order to save women’s lives and fulfill their rights, a number of countries – including Nepal and Ethiopia – have recently made abortion legal or significantly loosened restrictions. 

“If a new Supreme Court Justice were to tip the balance against Roe v. Wade, we will not see the end of abortion in this country,” Crane said.  “We will only see the end of safe abortions.”


For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258