Women's Rights Advocate on the Supreme Court

President Obama recently announced that he would be seeking a Supreme Court nominee who pays particular attention to Women's rights when interpreting the Constitution. Does this mean he is specifically searching for another female Justice. The politics, gender, and race of Supreme Court Justices are more intertwined in terms of their relevance to the public than ever before. On the heels of the appointment of the first Latina woman, Obama's upcoming nomination could prove very important in the next election. Especially considering that adding another female Justice would make the court 1/3 female. While Obama basically openly supports abortion rights..."I am somebody who believes that women should have the ability to make often very difficult decisions about their own bodies and issues of reproduction..." he claims that the nominee will not have to pass any sort of "litmus" test in relation to the highly contested issue of abortion. According to AP sources, it seems that 6 out of the 8 people being considered for the nomination are women. This fact, assuming it's true, all but guarantees that the next Justice will be a woman. Obama's decision about who he nominates could prove critical in terms of how voters react to him in the next election. Obama, like most Democrats, believes that the current Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Roberts, is far too conservative and activist, and that the courts recent behavior is a reflection of an alleged partisan agenda. If Obama picks a Justice who is too far to the left, he might alienate the moderates in his party, and doing so could be the difference between winning and losing the presidency.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_supreme_court