Take Action! Oppose Ashcroft Nomination (fwd)

[ASUW Womens Action Coalition]

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ASUW Women's Action Commission
University of Washington
Husky Union Building Rm.201
SAO 17 Box 352238
Seattle, WA 98195			

Phone: 206.543.1817	Fax: 206.685.4310
http://depts.washington.edu/~asuwomn

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 21:55:12 -0800 (PST)
From: Voices for Planned Parenthood <uwvox at u.washington.edu>
To: Undisclosed recipients:  ;
Subject: Take Action!  Oppose Ashcroft Nomination (fwd)

YOU'VE GOT TO DO THIS NOW!!!  If you're not signed up onto this network
already - there's information at the end of this email.  -Rachel.  
Responsible Choices Activists!

Speak out against George W. Bush's selection of former 
senator John Ashcroft for Attorney General.  Ashcroft's 
confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin on Tuesday, 
January 16th so immediate action is needed.  Here are three 
things you can do:  

1) Go to http://www.plannedparenthood.org/rchoices/lac to 
send a free fax or email to your senators urging them to 
oppose this nomination;

2) Call the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and be 
connected to your senators' offices directly;

3) Forward this message to everyone you know who cares 
about reproductive health and rights!

Included below is a fact sheet that outlines critical 
information on Ashcroft's background and the impact of the 
Attorney General on reproductive rights issues.  Don't let 
Ashcroft be confirmed without speaking out against it.  
Take action today!

----------------------------------------------------------
Name:  Former Sen. John Ashcroft

Position: Attorney General

PPFA Position: AGAINST


Key Areas of Concern
--------------------

-- The Attorney General plays a critical role in the 
selection of Federal Judicial Nominees. The Justice 
Department is responsible for selecting, screening and 
recommending judicial nominees for appointment to federal 
district and appellate courts throughout the country as 
well as for the Supreme Court. Given the large number of 
open judgeships at the district and appellate level, the 
Attorney General can have a significant impact on the 
Federal court system for many years.

-- As our country's lead prosecutor, the Attorney General 
is responsible for the enforcement of federal laws 
protecting women's reproductive freedom, including the 
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.  Along with 
State Attorneys General, the Attorney General may enact 
civil actions and monetary penalties as well.

-- The Attorney General is the legal advisor to the 
President and all the executive branches of government. In 
particular, the Justice Department provides legal advice to 
the executive branch on all constitutional questions.  The 
Justice Department also reviews pending Congressional 
legislation for constitutionality. Given Mr. Ashcroft's 
position on the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade, one could 
expect a Justice Department under his direction to consider 
nearly any ban or restriction on abortion to be 
constitutional.

-- The Attorney General will also represent the Bush 
Administration's position on issues within the courts - 
including the Supreme Court.  Through the Office of the 
Solicitor General, the Attorney General represents the 
United States in the Supreme Court.


Ashcroft's Legislative Record Demonstrates His Extreme 
Positions
--------------------

John Ashcroft was one of the fiercest opponents of abortion 
rights during his tenure in the U.S. Senate.  As a Senator, 
he supported the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of 
federal funds for abortion services as well as laws that 
might have banned common and safe forms of birth control.  
He was one of the few elected public officials to defend 
and accept an award from the American Life League, a 
radical right-wing group opposed to all abortions for any 
reason. 

Planned Parenthood Action Fund gave Ashcroft a 100% anti-
choice rating while he was in office.  He is extreme, and 
his positions are out of line with mainstream America. 
Ashcroft has a clear history of anti-choice positions that 
demonstrate why he should not be Attorney General:

  Ashcroft Opposed Roe v. Wade -- As recently as October
  1999, Ashcroft voted against an amendment restating the
  principles of Roe v. Wade and declaring that the Roe
  decision was appropriate, Constitutional, and should not
  be overturned or narrowed. (Roe v. Wade Resolution
  10/21/99)

  Ashcroft Sponsored the Human Life Amendment -- In 1998,
  Ashcroft sponsored S.J. Res. 49, the so-called "Human
  Life Amendment," and S. 2135, the so-called "Human Life
  Act," which stated that a fetus is a human being from the
  moment of fertilization and banned abortions (even in
  cases of rape and incest) "as long as [the law
  authorizing such procedures] requires every reasonable
  effort be made to preserve the lives of both of them."
  (Human Life Act of 1998)

  Ashcroft Sponsored Legislation Potentially Banning the
  Birth Control Pill -- The definition of life as beginning
  at "fertilization" as used in the "Human Life Amendment"
  raised the prospect that such a law or amendment would
  bar the use of many of the most effective and popular
  means of birth control.  The position that birth control
  pills and IUDs are abortifacients is a primary tenet of
  the American Life League, an organization from which
  Ashcroft received an award for his anti-choice
  activities. (Human Life Act of 1998)

  Ashcroft Opposed Legislation Guarantying That Clinic
  Violators Pay Their Fines -- Ashcroft voted against an
  amendment that would have prevented perpetrators of
  violence or harassment at reproductive health care
  clinics from declaring bankruptcy to avoid paying the
  damages and court fines levied against them as a result
  of their illegal activities. (Amendment to Bankruptcy
  legislation (S. 625), in committee)

  Ashcroft Opposed Medically Accurate Sex Education --
  Instead of supporting responsible, medically accurate
  sexual education programs that provide information about
  all options relating to reproductive health, including
  abstinence, so that teens may make informed decisions,
  Ashcroft voted to earmark $75 million in fund for
  abstinence only education. (Vote to allow $75 million to
  be earmarked for abstinence only education 7/23/96)


Role in Legislation
-------------------

The Justice Department also reviews pending Congressional 
legislation for constitutionality.  Examples of legislation 
proposed in the 106th Congress that the Justice Department 
might have reviewed include the so-called partial birth 
abortion ban, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, the Child 
Custody Protection Act as well as appropriations riders, 
including bans on research relating to mifepristone, 
whether women can use their own money on military bases to 
get abortions on military bases, whether women in who while 
in prison can use their own money to get abortions.


Conclusion: Ashcroft Puts Women's Constitutionally 
Protected Rights In Jeopardy
----------------------------

One only has to understand the scope of the Attorney 
General's office to understand why Planned Parenthood 
Federation of America is opposed to the nomination of John 
Ashcroft. Planned Parenthood's nationwide network of more 
than 500,000 activists is mobilizing to oppose his 
nomination.

**********************************************************
Encourage others to promote and protect reproductive health 
rights by joining the Responsible Choices Action Network at 
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/rchoices/join  
***********************************************************
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