Fw: now-action-list Oppose the Nomination of Priscilla Owen

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Martha Murdock, Director

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----- Original Message -----

From: " National Organization for Women " <now@...>

<now-action-list@...>

Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2002 2:17 PM

Subject: now-action-list Oppose the Nomination of Priscilla Owen

> Please feel free to forward the following to activists:

>

> From the National Organization for Women Action Center:

>

> Oppose the Nomination of Priscilla Owen

>

> July 23, 2002

>

> Action Needed:

>

> Please contact the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee this week and

> urge them to reject W. Bush's nomination of right-wing extremist

> Priscilla Owen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

>

> TO CALL OR SEND A FAX: You will find contact information for each member

of

> the Senate Judiciary Committee here:

> http://judiciary.senate.gov/members.cfm

>

> SEND AN EMAIL to the entire Senate Judiciary Committee:

> http://www.now.org/congress/issues/alert/?alertid=333121 & type=CU

>

> PLEASE NOTE: We've heard that many senators, in an effort to insulate

> themselves from public comment, are filtering out email from anyone who

> does not live in their state. Don't let that stop you! Every woman in the

> country is affected by W. Bush's attempt to stack the federal

courts

> with extremists like Priscilla Owen, and the members of the Senate

> Judiciary Committee can stop him. We need to tell them how important it is

> that they do. If your email message to any member of the committee bounces

> back, that simply means you need to follow up with a phone call or send a

> fax. Thank you!

>

> Background:

>

> Priscilla Owen has a history of using the courtroom to further her own

> narrow beliefs, going so far as to virtually re-write laws rather than

> fairly interpret them. For example, she advocates " stricter

interpretation "

> of the Texas law requiring girls younger than 18 to inform their parents

> before obtaining an abortion except in certain circumstances. Her idea of

> " interpreting " one of the exceptions, for girls who demonstrate that

> notification would not be in their best interest, is to require a teen to

> prove that an abortion would be in her best interest. Indeed, until she

was

> nominated to the Fifth Circuit, Justice Owen voted against granting a

> bypass of the parental notification law to every young woman who requested

> one -- even the college bound high school senior who feared her family

> would disown her if they learned of her pregnancy, and the young woman who

> feared that if her parents were notified, her alcoholic father would fly

> into a rage and beat her mother.

>

> Owen has also failed to show the commitment to judicial ethics required of

> every federal judge. In 1994, Enron endorsed her and contributed $8,600 to

> her successful Texas Supreme Court bid. Two years later, she wrote the

> majority opinion that resulted in the reduction of Enron's school taxes by

> $225,000, and according to Texans for Public Justice that court ruled in

> Enron's favor in five out of six cases. Now a household name for

> corruption, Enron contributed more money to Owen's campaign than any other

> corporation.

>

> If confirmed, Owen would serve for a lifetime on a court that is already

> dominated by conservatives hostile to women's rights and civil rights.

> President Clinton nominated three moderates to this court, none of whom

> made it through the confirmation process due to the Republican

leadership's

> obstructionist tactics.

>

> You can help stop W. Bush from installing this right-wing extremist

> on the Fifth Circuit by contacting the members of the Senate Judiciary

> Committee and urging them to reject Priscilla Owen. Please do it now!

>

> TO CALL OR SEND A FAX: You will find contact information for each member

of

> the Senate Judiciary Committee here:

> http://judiciary.senate.gov/members.cfm

>

> SEND AN EMAIL to the entire Senate Judiciary Committee here:

> http://www.now.org/congress/issues/alert/?alertid=333121 & type=CU

>

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>

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>