Nutcase confirmed to the federal bench.

NEWS from Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 6, 2004

CONTACT: Joel Lawson (202) 973-4880, cell (202) 236-2316
or Erin Libit (202) 973-4883

Anti-Choice Extremist James Leon Holmes Appointed to Eastern District of Arkansas
Confirmation Puts Women’s Health and Civil Rights in Judicial Jeopardy

Washington, DC – Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) condemned today the Senate’s confirmation of anti-choice judge James Leon Holmes to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. The Senate voted 51 to 46 to approve his nomination.

“Holmes’ record and rhetoric make him unfit for the federal bench,” said Gloria Feldt, president of PPFA. “Holmes has worked throughout his career to erode women’s rights, and to eradicate reproductive rights entirely.”

Holmes served as president of the Arkansas Right to Life, an organization devoted virtually exclusively to outlawing abortion. He also held the position of secretary of the Unborn Child Amendment Committee, which advanced a constitutional amendment to the Arkansas Constitution that would have prohibited the use of public funds for abortion unless the woman’s life was in danger.Holmes has written that “the wife is to subordinate herself to her husband,” and that her job “is to place herself under the authority of the man.”

“Holmes’ proper place is nowhere near the authority of a federal bench,” Feldt said. “His infamous comment that rape exceptions to abortion bans are unnecessary because conception from rape happens ‘as often as snow falls in Miami’ demonstrates both his blatant disregard for the facts and his appalling lack of compassion for the 300,000 American women who are raped each year and the 25,000 of those women who end up pregnant as a result.”

“James Leon Holmes’ confirmation is a mark of shame on the Senate roll call, but a call to action for women nationwide,” Feldt said.