Reynolds Takes Her Obsession With Attacking Abortion To The Supreme Court
For Immediate Release: August 2, 2018
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Governor Kim Reynolds announced yesterday that she will appoint Judge Susan Christensen to serve on the Iowa Supreme Court. Reynolds, who signed the nation’s most extreme ban on abortion into law, made it clear in a statement ahead of the decision that she wants “somebody that will follow the law and would revere the Constitution and follow the law.” The abortion ban signed by Reynolds is not only the most radical in the country, but is now one of the laws that could challenge Roe v. Wade, Reynolds’s ultimate goal. NARAL Pro-Choice Iowa Lead Organizer Kate Revaux issued the following statement:
“Kim Reynolds has put her out-of-touch priorities on full display by building her legislative agenda around outlawing abortion and shaming women. So it’s really no surprise that Reynolds, the brains behind the most extreme abortion ban in this country, is taking advantage of her power as Governor to appoint justices to the court that align with her extreme views. Reynolds knows she is out of step with the 7 in 10 Iowans who believe that everyone has the right to decide if, when, and how to have a family, but instead she ignores our values and appoints a judge who will see through her same anti-choice lens.”
“But Iowans have a choice this November. Kim Reynolds has inflicted enough damage on women and families across the state and Iowa is ready for a change. NARAL members across Iowa are making calls, knocking doors, and letting voters know that we have pro-choice champions like Fred Hubbell on the ballot who will never let them down or compromise on their basic rights.”
Background:
Anti-Choice Activists Recognize They “Can’t Ask” Nominees “Would You Overturn Roe?” Without Risking Serious Public Backlash, But Have Trained Their Anti-Choice Base To Recognize Clear “Proxy” Language, Such As “Originalist,” “Textualist,” “Constitutionalist” and “Judicial Restraint”
Susan B. Anthony List’s Dannenfelser explained that “constitutional” is typically code for “pro-life” in SCOTUS nominations, but noted her excitement that Trump had been explicit about his plans to select an anti-choice justice. According to The Washington Post, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List “said she couldn’t recall a candidate explicitly stating they would pursue ‘pro-life’ justices. ‘They usually couch it in other words, like “constitutional,”’ she said.” According to The Daily Beast, “When [Trump] promised he would only nominate ‘pro-life judges,’ Dannenfelser’s ears perked up. She said she’s never heard another Republican politician use that phrase. ‘I think they think that it doesn’t sound sophisticated, that it’s too frank for them,’ Dannenfelser said, of Republicans who are more euphemistic about their judicial philosophies. ‘What has been jarring on the one hand is refreshing on the other, which is that he calls it like he sees it.’” [The Daily Beast, 6/6/16; The Washington Post, 6/22/16; Twitter, 6/21/16]
Dannenfelser has also argued that supporting Roe means “misinterpreting the constitution.” When President Obama was considering nominees for a Supreme Court vacancy in 2010, Newsmax reported that, “Dannenfelser says that if Obama chooses someone who backs the Roe v. Wade decision, he’ll be misinterpreting the constitution.” [News Max, 4/27/10]
NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom for all Americans. NARAL works to guarantee that every woman has the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. In recognition of its work defending our constitutional right to choose, Fortune Magazine described NARAL as “one of the top 10 advocacy groups in America.”