Abortion Case From 1991 May Be Central in Confirmation - New York Times

CLICK TO READ: Abortion Case From 1991 May Be Central in Confirmation - New York Times

READ THE ARTICLE ABOVE AND WEEP--
Ladies, get ready to kiss your abortion rights goodbye. And, the rest of you had better be paying attention as well. Based on early information about Alito, every hair on our collective bodies should be standing on end. Alito's legal opinions seem to be far from mainstream. According to Ben Brandsel of MoveOn.org, here's a summary of just some of the core protections Alito would threaten:

"BASIC RIGHTS FOR WORKING FAMILIES--
As a judge on the Appeals Court, Alito issued a ruling to gut the Family and Medical Leave Act, which guarantees most workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a loved one in an emergency. The Supreme Court effectively overturned that ruling in 2003—but if Alito were on the Supreme Court he would pose a grave threat to the basic rights of working families.

CIVIL RIGHTS (in the workplace and beyond)--
In separate cases, Alito wrote dissenting opinions that would have made it essentially impossible to prove employment discrimination based on race or disability. He was overruled and harshly criticized by his colleagues, but if he were on the Supreme Court he could turn back the clock on decades of progress in securing civil rights for minorities and the disabled.

A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE--
Alito's judicial record and published views make him widely regarded as a sure vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. The extremist anti-abortion group Operation Rescue (who opposed Harriet Miers) responded to Alito's nomination today by saying: "Roe's days are numbered...We are trusting that we are now on the fast-track to derailing Roe v. Wade as the law of the land."7 If Alito were on the Supreme Court, reproductive freedom would be in serious jeopardy.

PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES--
In one significant case, Alito wrote a dissenting oppinion that would have allowed an unauthorized strip search of a woman and her 10 year-old daughter, in their own home, without a warrant. Again, Alito was outvoted and strongly criticized by his fellow judges, but if he were to join Thomas and Scalia on the Supreme Court he would pose a grave threat to civil liberties and individual freedoms."