All Rules Are Out the Window When the Pro-Abortion Groups Decide You Are the Enemy...

By Wanda Franz, Ph.D.

The nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court, along with the confirmation of John Roberts as Chief Justice, has sent the pro-abortion groups into a tizzy the likes of which we haven't seen in years.

Add to that the recent announcement that the Bush Administration is appealing the issue of partial-birth abortion to the Supreme Court, and groups like NARAL and Planned Parenthood are downright frothing at the mouth. They want someone's hide, and they want it now.

What they want is to stop Harriet Miers from ever getting on the high court. If they can't prevent that, they want to delay her confirmation as long as possible, so her voice and vote can't be heard on some key cases this term. They want this bad, and they're not going to be pleasant about it.

Judge Robert Bork was pilloried by the pro-aborts; Judge Clarence Thomas had his character assassinated. When the pro-abortion groups decide you are the enemy, all rules are out the window. Nobody's reputation is safe.

One of the best counters to a campaign of character assassination is the calm voice of truth. National Right to Life did a number of things to make sure the public had an accurate picture of the proceedings for the last Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts.

We ran radio ads.  We asked the public to call their senators and insist on fair hearings and a fair up-or-down vote. We held an educational conference in Washington, D.C., to make sure grassroots activists understood the confirmation process.

As we explained in a recent letter to our members, we could do this because of the generosity of supporters of our cause. But there is no way that we could budget for two Supreme Court vacancies within a few months. Consequently, we don't have the funds to do all we did to advocate for a fair vote for Judge Roberts.

The irony is that we will probably have to do much more, just to counter the attacks expected from the pro-abortion side. How do we know these attacks are coming? Because they told us, even before the President named his nominee!

For example, the leader of the Alliance for Justice, a group opposed to President Bush's judicial nominees, said the next fight would be a "firestorm." But this was before Bush even nominated anyone.

Face it, they have one objective: To reject any Bush nominee who has not stated that he or she will support an unrestricted right to abortion. They want nine Harry Blackmuns on the court, nothing less.

You and I are not about to let that happen. The pro-life side has been much more civil in these confirmation battles, insisting on fairness--fairness for the nominee, for President Bush, and for respect for the Constitution.

We think this is a noble goal to aspire to. It respects our nation's history and people. It is so different from the character-destroying tactics of the other side that it makes you wonder if we are debating the same issues.

When the pro-abortion groups launch their multi-million dollar campaign to defeat Harriet Miers with character smears, I hope you will join with National Right to Life in condemning and defeating their attacks. One of the best ways you can do this is through your generous support of our grassroots outreach work, which will get the truth to the American people--if we have the funding to do so.

Your support, sent with the coupon below, will help us continue our successful outreach begun during the Roberts hearings--the education, radio ads, media work--to make sure the President's new nominee gets a fair hearing and vote.

If you receive a letter requesting support for National Right to Life's work, please consider sending an extra special donation at this time. Not only is our ongoing lifesaving work in need of your continued support, but now there is the added need to counter the attacks from pro-abortion groups, as well.