Filibusters against life

For the past two years, the Democrats in the United States Senate have successfully held a filibuster over the nominations of Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen to the United States Appeals Court system. What this basically entails is that a procedure, which is normally set aside for votes on procedural manners, has been used by the Democrats in an unprecedented way to block the judgeship of these two fine and qualified individuals.

A filibuster demands that in order to pass, these nominees must now receive 60 votes instead of the usual simple majority. In the past, votes to end the filibuster on Estrada have tallied 52 and 54, enough for a majority, but not enough to break a filibuster. This is a definite obstruction of justice and a tactic to prevent highly qualified judges from taking the bench.

Last September, Planned Parenthood took credit for defeating President Bush's nomination of Priscilla Owen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Planned Parenthood had stated concerns regarding "her questionable history with reproductive issues and women's rights."

The reality is that Priscilla Owen, as a judge, has supported the right for a parent to be involved in a minor daughter's abortion decision. This is constitutional and simply shows common sense.

The National Organization for Women has taken credit for Estrada's plight. NOW stated that Estrada "has been compared to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the Supreme Court's most vocal opponents of women's abortion rights, because of his extreme conservatism."

Michigan Senator Carl Levin and Senator Debbie Stabenow are part of the problem. Those who represent us in the U.S. Senate are keeping key judges from taking the bench.