(Washington, DC) –Senator Sam Brownback’s hearing on the landmark Roe v. Wade decision underscores the threat to individual freedom and the right to privacy as the nation awaits a potential retirement from the Supreme Court.

Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said Brownback’s hearing in the Judiciary subcommittee is a warning of what's at stake as the Senate braces for the first vacancy on the Supreme Court in more than a decade.

"The American people support the constitutional protections of Roe v. Wade. Senator Brownback’s hearing attacking individual freedom and the right to privacy only reinforces the grip that far right groups have on the same Senate that will decide whether to confirm President Bush’s nominee for a lifetime position on the Supreme Court," Keenan said. "There is no limit to what the radical right will do to push senators like Sam Brownback to pave the way for a Supreme Court nominee who would vote to overturn Roe."

Conservative columnists and observers consistently rank Brownback as the top presidential pick of Pat Robertson and other groups that oppose individual freedom and the constitutional right to privacy established under Roe. Keenan also said President Bush could take a different path than Brownback and heed the call from a bipartisan group of senators to consult with them in the event of an opening on the Supreme Court.

"We believe in a culture of personal freedom and personal responsibility—and that means working to prevent unintended pregnancy and reduce the need for abortion," Keenan said. Senator Brownback refuses to work on common-sense, common ground measures to achieve this goal. Instead, he carries the water for Pat Robertson and other radical right activists, who not only oppose a woman’s right to choose but want to block women’s access to birth control and prevent our kids from learning honest, medically accurate sex education. President Bush should reject going down the same divisive path as Senator Brownback and consult with Senators to find a consensus candidate for the Supreme Court who supports individual freedom and the right to privacy."