February 2, 2009

Honorable Patrick Leahy
Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Arlen Specter
Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Herb Kohl
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Dianne Feinstein
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Orrin G. Hatch
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Russell D. Feingold
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Charles E. Grassley
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Charles E. Schumer
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Jon Kyl
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Richard J. Durbin
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Jeff Sessions
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Benjamin L. Cardin
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Lindsey Graham
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable John Cornyn
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Ron Wyden
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Tom Coburn
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Amy Klobuchar
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Honorable Edward E. Kaufman
Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Dear Chairman Leahy, Ranking Member Specter, and Committee Members,

We are writing on behalf of Americans who are concerned with the lack of scrutiny that could be applied to some of President Obama’s most important nominees.  As new nominations come before your Committee, we hope you will reject pressure from the White House or others to rubber stamp nominations.  Instead, it is our hope that you will give the American people an opportunity to hear about nominees and their records.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve in high offices within the Department of Justice, Dawn Johnsen, David Ogden, and Thomas J. Perrelli could have a dramatic impact on the state of this nation’s legal order.  Each of these nominees has made public comments or has taken positions indicating strong support for a shift in national policy regarding the culture of life.  Whatever one thinks of the culture of life, dramatic shifts in policy on such important national questions should not happen without serious deliberation.

Consider the following facts:

–David Ogden has been nominated for Deputy Attorney General. His hearing is next week, less than a month after his nomination. On behalf of the American Psychological Association, he filed a terrible amicus brief in Casey v. Planned Parenthood, and here are the relevant quotes:

(1) “The conclusions from the most rigorous scientific studies are consistent: for the overwhelming majority of women who undergo abortion, there are no long-term negative emotional effects…”
(2) “Abortion rarely causes or exacerbates psychological or emotional problems.  When women do experience regret, depression, or guilt, such feelings are mild and diminish rapidly without adversely affecting general functioning.  Those few women who do experience negative psychological responses after abortion appear to be those with preexisting emotional problems ….”

and

(3) “In sum, it is grossly misleading to tell a woman that abortion imposes possible detrimental psychological effects when the risks are negligible in most cases, when the evidence shows that she is more likely to experience feelings of relief and happiness, and when child-birth and child-rearing or adoption may pose concomitant (if not greater) risks or adverse psychological effects ….”

–Dawn Johnsen has been nominated to serve as head of the Office of Legal Counsel.  She is the former Legal Director to NARAL and was a Staff Counsel Fellow for the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project—a project which recently served as lead counsel in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern England.  This is absolutely stunning. For eight years, the Democrats and the Left complained that this office, charged with providing the government with objective opinions about the constitutionality of acts it wishes to undertake (this is the office that opined on detainees and interrogation, for example), had been politicized in an unprecedented way. And, now, without any debate or discussion, the Obama Administration is putting forward an absolute political zealot from two of the nation’s most Leftist groups.

–Thomas Perrelli, nominated to serve as Associate Attorney General, is most infamous for his defense of Terri Schiavo’s husband in the battle over withdrawing life-sustaining treatment.   Perrelli even worked with pro-euthanasia attorney George Felos on the case, sending a clear message about his own end-of-life views.  The appointment of Perrelli is hardly a surprise—President Obama voted with a unanimous Senate to pass the Schiavo bill, but now calls it one of his biggest mistakes.

Millions of Americans reasonably expect their elected representatives in the Senate to provide meaningful review of the President’s nominees, particularly when they could dramatically change national policy.  We urge the Committee to provide ample time for meaningful review to take place, and we urge members to ask probative questions of these nominees and demand serious answers so that the American people can continue to play a part in defining the cultural fabric of our nation.

Sincerely,

Kristan Hawkins
Executive Director, Students for Life of America

Tony Perkins
President, Family Research Council

David N. O’Steen, Ph. D.
Executive Director, National Right to Life Committee

Charmaine Yoest
President, Americans United for Life

Austin Ruse
President, Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute

Marjorie Dannenfelser
President, Susan B. Anthony List

Kris Mineau
President, Massachusetts Family Institute

Bradley Mattes
Executive Director, Life Issues Institute

Phyllis Schlafly
President, Eagle Forum

J. C. Willke, MD
President, International Right to Life Federation

Thomas Brejcha
President & Chief Counsel, Thomas More Society

Peter Breen
Executive Director & Legal Counsel, Thomas More Society

Joseph A. Brinck
President, Sanctity of Life Foundation

Jennifer Giroux
Executive Director, Women Influencing the Nation

Samuel B. Casey
General Counsel, Law of Life Project, Advocates International

Gary Bauer
President, American Values

Brian Burch
President of CatholicVote.org

David Bereit
National Director, 40 Days for Life

Phil Burress
President, Citizens for Community Values

Jill Stanek, RN
WorldNetDaily columnist

Arnold M. Culbreath,
Director, Protecting Black Life

Peggy Hartshorn
President, Heartbeat International

Joe Young
Vice President, Heartbeat International

Michael Geer
President, Pennsylvania Family Institute

Bryan Kemper
President, Stand True- Christ Centered Pro-life

John T. Bruchalski, MD, FACOG
Divine Mercy Care

James Nolan
President, Crossroads Pro-Life

Marie Bowen
Executive Director, Presbyterians Pro-Life

Jennifer Kimball, Be.L.
Executive Director, Culture of Life Foundation

Jo Tolek
Executive Director, Human Life Alliance

Dean Nelson
Executive Director, Network of Politically Active Christians

Chris Slattery,
President, Expectant Mother Care-EMC FrontLine Pregnancy Centers, New York City

Rev. Louis Sheldon
Chairman, Traditional Values Coalition

Andrea Lafferty
Executive Director, Traditional Values Coalition

Kay R. Daly
Coalition for a Fair Judiciary

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }