BY THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Published September 9, 2001
The Washington Post
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The fight for the next Supreme Court vacancy is taking on a new sound, if not exactly a new tone.
To persuade the Senate to support an anti-abortion nominee when the pivotal court seat becomes available, a coalition of conservative groups is delivering more than 20,000 baby rattles to Capitol Hill offices. The slogan: "Shake the nation back to life!"
The rattle is intended as "a noisy reminder of the little ones who, because of abortion, will never live, love or laugh on this earth," organizers say.
The campaign is accompanied by a sing-song television commercial featuring frolicking toddlers on the Mall who cry and disappear when the Supreme Court approves legal abortion.
"In order to see children protected again in our lifetime, we must fill every single vacancy with a pro-life justice," said Janet L. Folger, director of the Florida-based Center for Reclaiming America.
Conservative groups supporting the campaign which has raised and spent $2.2 million, according to Folger include the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, Phyllis Schlafly"s Eagle Forum and Chuck Colson"s Prison Fellowship. Individuals are encouraged to pay $25 to send a rattle to a senator and an accompanying letter to the White House, urging President Bush to nominate an abortion foe.
A separate anti-abortion advertising effort began in Philadelphia, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The poster and radio campaign, costing $500,000, raises questions about legal abortions late in pregnancy and notes that the health of a mother or child is not a factor in the majority of abortions.
"We"re just asking people to think. It"s not affiliated with any legislation," spokeswoman Cathy Cleaver reported. "The bishops don"t take positions on Supreme Court nominations."
