I am writing on behalf of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), a membership organization dedicated to improving access to reproductive health care for all women, to urge you to oppose the nomination of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl to the U.S. Court of Appeals to the Ninth Circuit. NFPRHA opposes Judge Kuhl's nomination because of her vocal opposition reproductive rights, specifically her attacks on family planning and attempts to prohibit low-income women from receiving information about all legal health options. Kuhl has been a tireless legal activist, who has worked for radical changes in the law both in private practice and during her tenure in the Reagan Department of Justice. In 1985, she convinced the Reagan Justice Department to argue for the outright reversal of Roe v. Wade in Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a case addressing a host of restrictions enacted by Pennsylvania. Earlier, in 1983, as Deputy Solicitor General, Kuhl unsuccessfully argued before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. v. Heckler in support of the Reagan Administration's imposition of the "squeal rule,” which would have disregarded patient confidentiality and required Title X clinics to notify the parents of teens seeking contraception. Kuhl continued her legal attacks on reproductive rights after leaving the federal government. In 1991, in private practice, she filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in Rust v. Sullivan on behalf of an anti-choice physicians group, the American Academy of Medical Ethics, and argued in support of the domestic gag rule, arguing in support of regulations denying low-income pregnant women information about all their legal health options by prohibiting Title X family planning clinics from giving abortion referrals to or even discussing abortion with women who asked for such information. The domestic gag rule was effectively repealed by President Clinton. NFPRHA, then as now, was actively engaged in efforts to ensure that women seeking services at publicly funded family planning clinics remained entitled to information about all of their medical options. Given Judge Kuhl's far-reaching record opposing family planning and the right to abortion information and services, a lifetime appointment to the federal bench would be detrimental to the health of women living in the nine states of the Ninth Circuit. The Senate Judiciary Committee can and must protect women's health and reject the nomination of Carolyn Kuhl. 1627 K St. NW. 12th Floor Washington, D.C. 20006-1702 ♦ Tel:202-293-3114 Fax. 202-293-1990 www nfprha org National Women's Law Center As detailed in NWLC's report, Judge Kuhl, who held a series of political appointments in the U.S. Department of Justice in the 1980's, has been identified as one of the ideological "zealots" in the Reagan Administration who pressed the Justice Department to argue that Bob Jones University should retain tax-exempt status despite its racially discriminatory policies, and who aggressively urged the Solicitor General to ask the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. While in government, she also argued in favor of weakening sexual harassment protections and affirmative action remedies for discrimination. Several of the controversial positions Judge Kuhl signed on to in government briefs have been repeated or echoed in her own subsequent writings. While in private practice, she also wrote a brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionality of the exclusion of women from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), a position resoundingly rejected by the Court when it held that a public institution cannot deny equal opportunity for women based on damaging and outmoded gender stereotypes and generalizations about women's inability to learn in a VMI-type setting. A major focus of NWLC's concern, set forth in the report, is Judge Kuhl's history of consistent opposition to women's reproductive rights and the right to privacy. As noted, Judge Kuhl was reportedly instrumental in the decision of the Department of Justice to urge the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. She also argued in support of the Title X "squeal rule," which would have required clinics receiving federal family planning funds to notify the parents of adolescents seeking contraceptives. This position was condemned by medical and public health organizations, women's and youth-serving groups, 40 states, and many others, and was rejected by two U.S. District Courts that enjoined the regulations and two U.S. Courts of Appeals. As a private practitioner, Kuhl wrote a brief in support of the Title X "gag rule," which prohibits health care professionals at family planning clinics from using Title X funds for counseling women regarding abortion or even informing them that abortion is a legal option. As a judge, Kuhl dismissed an invasion of privacy claim by a breast cancer survivor whose doctor permitted a drug salesman to observe a breast examination without her permission - a ruling that was reversed by a unanimous appellate court. "Lifetime appointments to the federal Courts of Appeals will have an enormous impact on the legal rights http://www.nwic.org/detaris.cfm?t=1411&CLEMENTI ational Women's Law Center of all Americans - and most especially women -- for For more information, please see the report ### http://www nwlc org/details cfm?id=1411§ion newsroom [ support us site index | search e-mail alerts archives | contact us ] [ home athletics child care child and family support education | employment ] [health | judges, courts & women's rights National Womens Law Center | 11 Dupont Circle NW, Suite 800 | Washington, DC 20036 | Tel: 202 588 5180 | Fax: 202 589 5183 Privacy Statement National Women's Law Center Copyright 2000. NRDC THE EARTH'S BEST DEFENSE January 28, 2003 NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL www.nrdc.org The Honorable Barbara Boxer United States Senate 112 Hart Office Building The Honorable Dianne Feinstein United States Senate 331 Hart Office Building The Honorable Orrin Hatch Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate 104 Hart Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 The Honorable Patrick Leahy Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate 224 Dirksen Office Building Washington, DC. 20510 Dear Senators: On behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council's more than 500,000 members, over 100,000 of whom live in the state of California, I am writing to register our opposition to Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl's nomination to a lifetime seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. We have reviewed her record, and we are concerned that she would bring extreme viewpoints to the federal bench if confirmed by the Senate. The most troubling example we have seen from Judge Kuhl's record is that, in briefing and arguing UAW v. Brock, 477 U.S. 274 (1986), for the Reagan Administration, she directly urged the Supreme Court to overrule the doctrine of associational standing. This doctrine is the legal basis that allows a group such as NRDC to represent the interests of its members who are injured by a defendant's action. For example, when NRDC sues to stop toxic water pollution by a company, NRDC can do so because of the doctrine of associational standing. The same doctrine serves as the basis for standing for every other environmental group that proceeds to court to protect the environment for all Americans, as well other public interest groups that hold private industry and the government to their legal duties. In his memoirs, then-Solicitor General Charles Fried noted that "my Deputy and 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 400 T: 202 289-6868 x 202 289-1060 NEW YORK LOS ANGELES SAN FRANCISCO |