Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Congressman Trent Franks Expresses Grave Concern Over Judge Sotomayor's Remarks



For Immediate Release

Contact: Bethany Barker or Ben Carnes 202-225-4576

Congressman Trent Franks Expresses Grave ConcernOver Judge Sotomayor's Remarks

July 14, 2009 - Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) made the following statement today in response to comments made by JudgeSonia Sotomayor during her Senate confirmation hearing:

"Judge Sotomayor stated today during her confirmation hearing that she considers the right to abortion to be 'settled law.' I would remind Judge Sotomayor that the right to own a slave was once considered 'settled law.' The Dred Scottdecision by the Supreme Court said that the black man was property and not a person under the Constitution, and therefore that blacks 'had no rights that the white man was bound to respect.'

"Such reasoning resulted in the enslavement of millions of African Americans and was made evident again in the Roe v. Wade decision, resulting to date in the death of nearly 50 million unborn children."

"Thankfully, opponents of slavery did not share Judge Sotomayor's view that settled law must always prevail even at the expense of the most basic foundational truth of all: the fundamental right of every man, woman, and child-- even the unborn child-- to live. This right must necessarily come before every other Constitutional right, because without the right to live, every other right becomes meaningless. When a Judicial precedent allegedly grounded in Constitutional moorings violates that clear, inviolable principle, it is the precedent, not the Constitutional principle that must be vacated.

"It astounds me and should cause my colleagues in the Senate deep concern that Judge Sotomayor is unable to find the basic right to life within the Constitution, and yet believes that abortion-on-demand is settled Constitutional law.

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