Antiabortion-Rights Advocates Gain Little Traction In Efforts To Block Nominees

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 28 Apr 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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Antiabortion-rights advocates are focusing on efforts to block the confirmation of Dawn Johnsen to be head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel after seeing little success in attempts to block President Obama's other nominees, CQ Today reports. Although Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said last week that a filibuster is under consideration, efforts to delay a Senate vote on Johnsen "may actually demonstrate the weakness, not the strength, of social conservatives," according to CQ Today. Campaigns to block other nominees, including Deputy Attorney General David Ogden, have failed to gain significant traction, and much of the conservative opposition to Johnsen has focused on national security issues, not abortion rights. Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said that "[t]his is not mostly about abortion," while Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) called his justification for opposing Johnsen "a Chinese menu of reasons." However, at least one conservative Democrat senator, Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), has said he will not support Johnsen because of concerns about her "outspoken pro-choice views on abortion," including her previous position as legal director at NARAL Pro-Choice America, according to spokesperson Clay Westrope.

For some senators, re-election concerns could be coming into play in Johnsen's confirmation process, CQ Today reports. The Judiciary Committee voted along party lines more than a month ago to support her confirmation, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has yet to schedule a full Senate vote. Specter, who is facing re-election next year, abstained from the committee vote, saying that he needed more information. According to CQ Today, Specter could be "feeling heat" from the right over conservative challenger former Rep. Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.). Reid also is up for re-election in 2010 and "may prefer not to force potentially vulnerable incumbents" to vote on Johnsen, CQ Today reports (Allen, CQ Today, 4/24).

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