Supreme Court update
by Jess McCabe // 1 November 2005, 22:21
President Bush has nominated Samuel Alito to sit on the Supreme Court, a man who issued a minority ruling in 1991 that a pregnant married woman should be forced to inform her husband before having an abortion.
If confirmed by the Senate, this could mean Alito would vote to reverse Roe vs Wade if a case came before the court.
The conservative judge has a proven track record, unlike previous nominee Harriet Miers who withdrew when the Senate wanted to probe the legal advice she had given Bush.
But, this aside, he has already won the backing of hard line right-wingers such as Concerned Women of America, who tried to scupper Miers' appointment because she did not have a record of campaigning against abortion.
The Guardian quotes Ralph Neas, the head of People for the American Way, as saying: "Rightwing leaders vetoed Miers because she failed their ideological litmus test. With Judge Alito, President Bush has obediently picked a nominee who passes that test with flying colours."
The Guardian is also running a hilarious Steve Bell cartoon on the announcement, see it here.
Founder of The F-Word, Catherine Redfern, has co-authored a new book with Kristin Aune. Find out more at the 
