Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the jubilant reaction from organizations that have advocated the overturning of Roe v. Wade reflected the undue influence these groups may have had on this selection.

"President Bush is asking the Senate to confirm John Roberts to serve a lifetime appointment in a position in which he will have a profound impact on the lives of ordinary Americans. We are filing this request because the public has a right to the same information regarding a potential Supreme Court Justice as representatives of ideological pressure groups," Keenan said. "The essential question is, ‘What do they know about John Roberts and how do they know it?’"

The influence of anti-choice groups has been recounted in stories in which the White House’s chief judicial nominee advisers used Roberts’ record as a top political lawyer in the first Bush administration to verify his anti-choice credentials. In that role, Roberts filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that "Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled…. [T]he Court’s conclusion in Roe that there is a fundamental right to an abortion… finds no support in the text, structure, or history of the Constitution." In an example of political activism, Roberts filed a "friend of the court" brief for the United States supporting the violent anti-choice group Operation Rescue, which used intimidation and threats of violence to block women’s access to health clinics.

A copy of the letter sent the White House is below.

Hon. Harriet Miers
Assistant to the President and Counsel
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

July 25, 2005

Dear Ms. Miers:

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, I am requesting records or descriptions of any contacts between your office, the office of Karl Rove, or any other White House employee with any of the groups named below concerning Judge John Roberts prior to his nomination to the Supreme Court.

Given the pressing nature of this information, and the upcoming U.S. Senate hearings on Mr. Roberts’ nomination, I ask that you consider this request on an expedited basis. Surely, the American people have a right to the same information regarding a potential Supreme Court Justice as do representatives of ideological pressure groups.

We request information regarding contacts with any of the following groups:

American Society for Law and Justice
American Values
Christian Coalition
Committee for Justice
Concerned Women for America
Family Research Council
Focus on the Family
Heritage Foundation
Judicial Confirmation Network
National Right to Life Committee
Operation Rescue
Progress for America
Third Branch Conference
Traditional Values Coalition

Sincerely,

Nancy Keenan
President