'Stop Specter Pro-Life Pray-In' Set For Tuesday

By Jimmy Moore
Talon News
November 8, 2004

Pro-life leaders have planned a "pray-in" in Washington on Tuesday to protest Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) being considered for the chairmanship on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Talon News reported on Friday that Specter, who openly acknowledges his support for abortion, issued a warning to President George W. Bush after the election last week about nominating conservative judges to be considered for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Specter said he "would expect [Bush] to be mindful of the considerations which I am mentioning," namely for him to select judges who would not overturn the landmark ruling of Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion.

Responding to the public outcry that he sent the president a warning about judicial nominations, Specter later modified his statement when he said he "would never apply any litmus test on the abortion issue."

Even still, the "Stop Specter Pro-Life Pray In" will feature prominent national pro-life leaders such as Operation Rescue's Troy Newman, Christian Defense Coalition's Rev. Pat Mahoney, Faith and Action's Rev. Rob Schenck, and New York-based Catholic pro-life, pro-family activist Chris Slattery.

Planning to assemble near the U.S. Supreme Court at the Dirksen Senate Office building in Washington at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, these pro-life leaders said the role of the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is too important for someone like Specter to continue the obstruction that was used by the Democrats over the past four years regarding President George W. Bush's judicial nominations.

A prayer service will be conducted outside as well as in the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), the man primarily looked to for making suggestions for committee appointments.

"We urge people to contact Senator Frist and let him know that the President needs a loyal man at the helm of the Judiciary Committee, and that man is not Senator Specter," Mahoney said in a statement.

Expressing his outrage over Specter's threat against the president to prevent pro-life judges from being considered, Newman said this is "outrageous."

"[Specter] cannot be allowed to single-handily hold nominees hostage with whom he has a personal axe to grind," Newman exclaimed in a statement.

Many pro-life leaders recall Specter's role in 1987 when he, as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was one of the key opponents to President Ronald Reagan's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Robert Bork, who publicly revealed his opposition to the controversial 1973 abortion case, Roe v. Wade.

"Its time to bork the man who borked Judge Bork," Slattery contended in a statement. "Most pro-life activists worked tirelessly for the President's reelection with the hope and expectation of judicial conservative U.S. Supreme Court nominations."

He added that Specter "has flip-flopped on a pledge to allow these nominations to go through and has created a ground swell of opposition and mistrust from the pro-life community."

These pro-life leaders urge people to contact Sen. Frist directly regarding the Specter appointment as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee at 202-224-3344.

Also, they are also asking citizens to contact their Republican U.S. Senators, including those who won in last week's election, at 202-224-3121 as well as the nine members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

It only takes 11 members of the Republican caucus to call for a secret ballot to replace a committee chair.