Jan

14

Stop Richard Honaker

Filed Under abortion, action alert, anti-choice extremism, courts, misogyny, reproductive justice, women’s health  | Posted by Cara |

Peter Rothberg recently wrote a column about radical Bush federal judge nominee Richard Honaker. I had been meaning to write about Richard Honaker, but it slipped my mind — probably because his nomination has received so little media attention, which is specifically why it’s so important to write about it. I thank Peter for reminding me by passing on his column.

Honaker was nominated all the way back in March, but his nomination is news again because it is expected that he will get a hearing early in 2008. You should care because he is quite a prolific opponent of reproductive rights, and his views are exceedingly dangerous. If confirmed, his post as a federal judge would be a lifetime appointment. As Peter notes:

Richard Honaker, President Bush’s latest radical nominee to the federal bench, is far outside the US mainstream when it comes to reproductive rights and freedoms. He’s devoted a good chunk of his career to fighting to deny women access to safe, legal reproductive-health services. He tried and failed to pass a state law banning abortion in Wyoming while serving in the Wyoming House of Reps–three times! He’s publicly stated that abortion is “wrong, and no one should have the right to do what is wrong.”

[. . .]

Moreover, beyond his documented hostility toward a woman’s constitutional right to choose, Honaker’s statements about how certain religious views should influence legal analysis call into question his ability to apply the law without prejudice and with appropriate respect for and deference to precedent. Specifically, Honaker advances a legal philosophy that elevates his personal view of Christianity over well-established constitutional and legal principles.

And this message comes from NARAL Pro-Choice Wyoming:

In my boxes of files from past legislative sessions, elections, and legal battles, I found example after example of Honaker’s blatant anti-choice bias. Yet he seems to consider his anti-choice record to be mere youthful exuberance. The man who once led an effort to outlaw abortion in Wyoming is now trying to downplay his own radical agenda. “As a state legislator,” he now says, “I took positions on a lot of legislative issues and public policy issues, and one of them was on the abortion issue. That was my role at that time…But my role as a judge would be far different.” In other words: Don’t worry your pretty little head, I’m going to change my anti-choice ways. Riiiight.

So, when an Associated Press reporter called for a quote, I didn’t know where to start! Should I start with the list of anti-choice legislation he championed in the state legislature – such as the “Human Life Protection Act,” a bill he authored that would have outlawed almost all abortion? Maybe I should highlight the major role Americans United for Life played in developing his “Human Life Protection Act?” The group even paid for his trip to Chicago, where they advised him on how to advance this legislation! Or maybe it would be better to focus on his role with the “Unseen Hands of Prayer Circle PAC” – the group that was formed to try to push an abortion ban through the ballot process after it failed in the legislature? Honaker even represented the extreme anti-choice group before the State Supreme Court and succeeded in getting the measure on the 1994 statewide ballot – but fortunately, Wyoming voters overwhelmingly rejected the Honaker abortion ban by a 61-39 percent margin. Of all the Americans qualified to sit on the federal bench, this is whom George Bush picks?!?!? Honaker’s nomination now goes to the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee – so we’re watching closely to see what happens next. But it just goes to show: Despite the electoral gains we made last November, President Bush can still nominate whomever he wants to these crucial judgeships – and, if confirmed, they serve lifetime appointments!

If you haven’t already received/responded to this action alert from NARAL, please take a moment to urge the Senate to refuse to confirm Honaker.

Oh, and by the way: the worst part is that Honaker is far from Bush’s most anti-choice nominee or appointee. If you dare, find out why he doesn’t even make it into the top ten list.


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