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SCHOLARS AND LAWYERS ANALYZE
WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR WOMEN
WITH A NEW CONFIRMATION TO THE SUPREME COURT

August 23, 2005 , New York , NY – The National Council for Research on Women (NCRW) convened leading women scholars and lawyers today in a press briefing on what’s at stake for women with a new confirmation to the Supreme Court. The participants raised in-depth questions and offered analysis on how this confirmation could affect and potentially undermine women’s gains including equal educational opportunities, equitable employment practices and pay, freedom from violence, and reproductive rights.

“In election after election, women are often the key swing voters. Today women are not only watching the senate and but assessing whether those they elected are representing their interests and safeguarding their rights. We want senators to remember women not only on Election Day, but everyday,” asserted NCRW President Linda Basch , Ph.D. and moderator of the press briefing. “We ask that senators listen to the concerns of women and give the time and deliberation that is necessary to ensure that women’s rights remain intact and safe from views and ideologies that could compromise their equality,” she added.

The National Council for Research on Women’s 103 members are leading women’s university research and policy centers located throughout the United States . Debates about what John Roberts’ legal record could mean for women are reverberating among scholars and experts across the country. The Council’s goal is to bring the scholarly analysis of its member centers into national discourse so that public policy and legal decisions are based on facts, rather than assumptions about women and girls’ lives.

“We cannot afford to have any Supreme Court justices confirmed, whether it’s Roberts or other future nominees, who will turn back the clock on women’s rights or any other civil liberties our country has worked so hard to forge,” said Basch in response to recent reports on Roberts’ record on women. “The Senate cannot ignore Roberts’ troubling record and what’s at stake for women’s rights as it deliberates this critical nomination,” emphasized Basch. “Our goal in bringing together experts is to demonstrate to Senators some of the in-depth questions that must be probed about Roberts’ record.”

In addition to Basch, participants in the press briefing were Nancy Belden, Partner, Belden Russonello & Stewart and Past President of the American Association for Public Opinion Research; Deborah Rhode, Esq., Professor, Stanford Law School; Ellen Chesler, Ph.D., historian and author of Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America and senior fellow at the Open Society Institute; and Jocelyn Frye, Director of Legal and Public Policy, National Partnership for Woman and Families.

As a network of national women’s research and policy centers, the Council is actively disseminating information on what women and men across the country can do to make their concerns about John Roberts’ nomination heard. The Council’s online Research-for-Action Clearinghouse ( www.ncrw.org ) features its member centers’ analyses of Roberts’ record and provides links to action steps on how to stay informed. “At this pivotal moment in history, we need to be vigilant,” asserted Basch. “Any nominee molded in the jurisprudence of Justices Scalia and Thomas – two Justices whom President Bush has called “model” Justices – would likely undo years of hard fought legal rights for women and girls.”

At the press briefing, participants urged a thorough evaluation of Judge Roberts’ record on women’s and civil rights. “Nothing less than the future of our democracy is at stake,” said Basch.

The National Council for Research on Women is a network of 103 leading US women’s research and policy centers, with a growing international reach. The Council uses the power and knowledge of a women’s research network to inform debate, policies, and practices, and build a more inclusive and equitable world for women and girls . To view Linda Basch ’s full press briefing statement, click here.

For more information, please contact: Deborah Siegel, 212-785-7335 x218

For contact information for speakers, CLICK HERE
To find NCRW experts by area of expertise, CLICK HERE
To find NCRW experts in your area, CLICK HERE

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