WASHINGTON - May 20 - NARAL Pro-Choice America, the nation’s leading advocate for personal privacy and a woman’s right to choose, today congratulated the Senate for standing up to President Bush’s court-packing scheme and insisting on respect for the U.S. Constitution. NARAL Pro-Choice America has been a leader in the fight against anti-choice judicial activist nominees, rallying its nationwide network of members and supporters to remind the Senate that a majority of Americans are pro-choice.

Despite success, however, NARAL Pro-Choice America says the work for those who value privacy and choice is far from done. As part of the deal with the White House, the Senate will vote in the coming weeks on the nomination to a district court in Arkansas of James Leon Holmes, a vehement opponent of women’s reproductive rights whose right-wing ideology extends to his beliefs about the appropriate roles of men and women in marriage. According to Holmes, “a wife is to subordinate herself to her husband.”

Interim President Elizabeth Cavendish stated, “Thanks to the vigilance of pro-choice Senators, some of George Bush’s most egregious anti-choice nominees were blocked, but there is still work to be done. One of Bush’s worst picks is still coming up for a vote. Holmes is anti-choice and anti-woman. NARAL Pro-Choice America will be doing everything in its power in the coming weeks to ensure that he does not achieve frightening power over women’s lives.”

Cavendish added, “NARAL Pro-Choice America is ready to launch an aggressive campaign to block any anti-choice nominee who would roll back a woman’s right to make private reproductive health decisions.”

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