What follows is cross-posted from a Cornerstone alert sent out today, with fair warning about Executive Councilor(s) trying to inject abortion into the nomination of Gordon MacDonald to the state Supreme Court, and with due acknowledgment that I’m a Cornerstone consultant.
Governor Sununu has nominated Attorney General Gordon MacDonald to be Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The Executive Council will vote on that nomination shortly, with the next Council meeting being this Wednesday, July 10. While Cornerstone has made no endorsement of the nomination, we note that opposition to MacDonald is coming from a troubling source: abortion advocates.
The abortion industry may very shortly influence the makeup of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The only way to counter that is to let your Executive Councilor know right away that support for abortion has no place in the discussion of who should sit on the Court.
We don’t know where Attorney General MacDonald stands on the right to life. We do know what happens when abortion advocates weigh in on public policy while the public isn’t paying attention: we get our current situation in New Hampshire, where abortion is unregulated throughout all nine months of pregnancy, and where even abortion statistics can’t be collected because of industry opposition.
That’s a skewed attitude that fails to respect all human life. It is already prevalent in the legislature. It shouldn’t infect the judiciary as well.
The Valley News reported on June 28 that District One Executive Councilor Michael Cryans will oppose MacDonald’s nomination. “Cryans told The Valley News…he didn’t think MacDonald’s answers on abortion rights…during a confirmation hearing on Wednesday were ‘strong enough’…’I didn’t have a comfort level if there was a swing at the national level to overturn Roe v. Wade that it wouldn’t be attempted at the state level,’ Cryans said.”
Think about New Hampshire laws, which are the things the New Hampshire Supreme Court rules upon. Where’s the challenge to Roe that abortion advocates fear? Think about the pro-life bills that have been introduced (unsuccessfully) in recent years. Which ones would have challenged Roe, if they had become law and then been challenged in court? Abortion statistics, limitations on late-term abortions, limitations on abortion funding, informed consent: all are consistent with Roe, according to U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
Councilor Cryans surely knows this. So do other abortion advocates who oppose MacDonald’s nomination.
What abortion advocates in New Hampshire fear is not that Roe will be overturned. Instead, they fear that any pro-life policy might be adopted in the Granite State.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court is too important to leave to the influence of the abortion industry. Let your Councilor know now that abortion should play no role as the Council considers MacDonald’s nomination. Tell your Councilor to listen to constituents, not abortion lobbyists.
Office phone for all councilors: (603) 271-3632
