Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2 - The Georgia Bulletin, August 2,1990
Sadness, Cheers Greet Brennan Resignation
BY LAURIE HANSEN
WASHINGTON (CNS)
- Some Catholic observ
ers, hoping for a reversal
of Roe vs. Wade, cheered
Supreme Court Justice
William J. Brennan’s July
20 resignation, while oth
ers expressed sorrow,
calling him "one of the
greats" in the high court’s
history.
President Bush’s an
nouncement, three days
after the Brennan resigna
tion, that he would nomi
nate federal appeals court
Judge David H. Souter of
New Hampshire to the
vacancy prompted specula
tion about Souter’s stand
on abortion.
Brennan had been
among the dwindling num
ber of justices still sup
porting the court’s 1973
Roe vs. Wade decision
that declared a constitu
tional right to abortion.
Supporters and opponents
of abortion rights have
speculated that the focus
of the confirmation process
for Brennan’s replacement
will be abortion.
Souter, a 50-year-old
Episcopalian, said at a July
23 news conference that he
would not comment on
any judicial issues until his
Senate confirmation hear
ings.
The graduate of Harvard
Law School and Rhodes
Scholar participated in one
Justice Brennan
major ruling involving
abortion as a member of
the New Hampshire Su
preme Court. In a 1986
lawsuit against a doctor, a
woman alleged that the
physician failed to advise
her of the possibility that
the measles she contracted
during pregnancy would
result in birth defects for
her baby.
The court ruled that it
had no business deciding
whether such a child
would be better off aborted
by its mother. But it did
rule that the parents of
children with birth defects
have a right to sue.
It also held that doctors
have a responsibility to
test for birth defects and
inform pregnant women of
the possibility of defects to
give them the option of
abortion.
"We recognize that the
termination of pregnancy
involves controversial and
divisive social issues," said
the opinion with which
Souter agreed. "Neverthe
less, the Supreme Court of
the United States has held
that a woman has a consti
tutionally secured right to
terminate a pregnancy."
Abortion rights oppo
nents reacted cautiously to
the nomination of Souter.
"As far as we know,
Judge Souter has not ex
pressed a judgment on Roe
vs. Wade. We are pleased
that President Bush says
he is nominating a justice
who will interpret the
Constitution according to
its text, and who will not
legislate from the bench,"
said Douglas Johnson,
legislative director of the
National Right to Life
Committee, in a July 23
statement.
The civil rights commu
nity knows little about
Souter, said Ralph G.
Neas, executive director of
the Leadership Conference
on Civil Rights. "With so
much at stake we will
carefully examine his
record and his judicial
philosophy."
The U.S. Catholic Con
ference, public policy arm
of the U.S. bishops, is a
member of the leadership
conference.
The 84-year-old
Brennan, known as a liber
al stalwart whose views
shaped the direction of the
high court for more than
three decades, resigned for
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Catholics On Court
WASHINGTON (CNS) - Justice William J.
Brennan was the sixth Catholic to serve on the
Supreme Court in its 200-year history.
Two more Catholics - Associate Justices Antonin
Scalia and Anthony M. Kennedy - have joined the
court since Brennan’s appointment in 1956, bringing
the total number of Catholics who have been Su
preme Court justices to eight.
They are:
- Roger B. Taney, chief justice, 1836-64.
-Edward D. White, associate justice, 1894-1910,
and chief justice, 1910-1921.
-Joseph McKenna, associate justice, 1898-1925.
- Pierce Butler, associate justice, 1922-39.
- Frank Murphy, associate justice, 1940-49.
- William J. Brennan, associate justice, 1956-
1990.
- Antonin Scalia, associate justice, 1986-present.
- Anthony M. Kennedy, associate justice, 1988-
present.
health reasons three weeks
after suffering a small
stroke.
John Pantuso, a spokes
man for the Milwaukee-
based Catholic League for
Religious and Civil Rights,
in a July 23 telephone
interview termed news of
the Brennan resignation
“wonderful.”
"We court watchers
have been sitting back for
a long time, fully aware of
the ages of Brennan and
(Justice) Thurgood Mar
shall, wishing they would
step aside so that the court
can hopefully overturn Roe
vs. Wade," said Pantuso.
He said Brennan had
been among justices sup
porting "secular decisions"
on religious freedom cases,
such as in the April ruling
in Oregon vs. Smith ki
which the court upheld the
right of a state to ban use
of peyote, an outlawed
drug.
Some church observers
contended that prohibiting
religious use of peyote,
which is used in a sacra
mental practice by certain
Native Americans, chipped
away at First Amendment
freedoms.
But Jesuit Father Robert
F. Drinan, law professor at
Washington-based George
town University, said he
was “sad that this man
who contributed almost 34
years” to the court was
forced to retire for health
reasons.
"He was certainly one
of the greats in Supreme
Court history. He interpret
ed the Bill of Rights in a
way that increased free
dom and liberty" for many,
said Father Drinan, citing
the 1963 Sherbert vs.
Vemer decision, which he
said "expanded the fron
tiers of religious freedom."
In that pivotal case,
Brennan wrote that only a
compelling state interest
justified limitations on
religious liberty.
Father Drinan said
Brennan made a "tremen
dous contribution" in the
area of civil rights, em
phasizing the importance
of the “equal protection
clause of the 14th Amend
ment on behalf of minori
ties, especially blacks."
Ronald G. Jackson, a
member of the USCC’s
Domestic Policy Commit
tee and public policy ana
lyst at the National Urban
League, said Brennan’s *
leadership had been influ
ential in the court’s deci
sions in favor of affirma- *
five action and oppposing
employment discrimina
tion. “His ability to get m
the court to understand”
what writers of the Consti
tution really meant resulted
in great strides in civil •
rights, said Jackson.
Bishop Thomas V.
Daily of Brooklyn, N.Y., *
said he was "glad"
Brennan had resigned.
Meeting with reporters •
following a prayer vigil
outside a Brooklyn abor
tion clinic July 24, Bishop
Daily said that "talking as
a citizen, I’m glad about
his resignation, if it’s
going to mean an end to »
abortion."
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