You may know that we have an empty seat on our U.S. Supreme Court now, left vacant by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, that is at risk of being filled by a very conservative, anti-abortion judge. But you may not know that the same situation is playing out right now on our state Supreme Court. For 15 months now, we have had an open seat on the N.H. Supreme Court after Gov. Chris Sununu’s nominee last year, Gordon MacDonald, failed to be confirmed as chief justice.
The Democratic majority on the Executive Council rejected MacDonald’s nomination last year for many reasons – his lack of judicial experience, his history of highly partisan activism, and importantly, his long history of attacking reproductive rights.
Abortion rights are protected by federal law now. But Roe v. Wade is in grave danger of being overturned, and if it comes to that, reproductive rights will come to our state Legislature and ultimately to our state Supreme Court.
Who confirms Supreme Court justices? At the national level, it’s the U.S. Senate. In New Hampshire, it’s our Executive Council. That’s why it’s so important this year to elect a pro-choice majority to the Executive Council. I’ll be voting for Cinde Warmington for Executive Council District 2. If you believe government should stay out of personal health care decisions, I urge you to join me in voting for her and other Democrats running in the five council districts across New Hampshire.
ANN BARTOW
Hopkinton