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U.S. Attorney GeneralAshcroft was confirmed as Attorney General on 2/1/01. Read Eleanor Smeal's statement on the Ashcroft vote.
Not only did Ashcroft staunchly oppose the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), as Missouri's Attorney General he filed suit against the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1979, charging NOW with anti-trust violations and attempting to break the ERA convention boycott of unratified states. With taxpayer money, he waged a losing 3-year challenge to the boycott, allowing his ideological crusade to prevail over legal judgement and respect for free speech. John Ashcroft has vowed that he "would not stop" until the U.S. adopted a constitutional amendment banning abortion. He opposes abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. As U.S. Attorney General, Ashcroft would be charged with enforcing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), which protects clinic workers, doctors, and patients from anti-abortion violence, and which establishes civil and criminal penalties for violations. Ashcroft has worked with anti-abortion extremists and supported the so-called Infant's Protection Act, which would have allowed the use of force against abortion providers. Larry Pratt, head of Gun Owners of America, received a handwritten note from Ashcroft which is now posted on the group's website. Pratt, co-chair of Pat Buchanan's bid for the presidency, was a fundraiser for Operation Rescue, raising money for legal defense in cases resulting from illegal actions at abortion clinics. For years, Ashcroft has been backed by the top leadership in the religious right, including Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Phyllis Schafly, and Paul Weyrich - all architects of the right-wing movement against women's rights, abortion rights, civil rights, and lesbian and gay rights. Ashcroft led an 18-year fight to stop the voluntary desegregation of the St. Louis school system. Internet Resources Attorney General | Labor | Interior | Health & Human Services |
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John
Ashcroft, George W. Bush's Attorney General Designate, has a
20-year anti-women's rights, anti-civil rights, anti-choice record.
Repeatedly, he has allowed his right-wing, extremist ideology to
trump his legal judgment.
"John Ashcroft has been an ardent opponent of women's rights for over 20 years...His willingness to stretch the law and use Missouri tax dollars to launch a three-year unsuccessful fight against NOW and the ERA all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court foreshadows how far he will go to fight and deny women's rights. His utter lack of understanding of freedom of political speech and the right to take political action to achieve social justice exemplifies a track record where his right-wing ideology prevails over his legal judgment."- Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority and former NOW President during the Ashcroft anti-ERA lawsuit |