Karen Pearl Statement on Confirmation of Owen

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Earlier today, the Senate voted to confirm Justice Priscilla Owen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by a vote of 56 to 43. Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) vigorously opposed the nomination and confirmation of this anti-choice activist judge for a lifetime appointment.

"Justice Owen is squarely outside of the mainstream on issues of health and reproductive freedom," said Karen Pearl, Interim President of PPFA. "She has a shameful record of placing harsh burdens on teens seeking judicial bypass, even blocking access to abortion care for those who fear that physical abuse would result if their parents became aware of their pregnancy. These are not abstract legal issues to millions of women across the country; they are an intrusion into their private, personal decisions."

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading sexual and reproductive health care provider and advocate. We believe that everyone has the right to choose when or whether to have a child, and that every child should be wanted and loved. Planned Parenthood affiliates operate nearly 800 health centers nationwide, providing medical services and sexuality education for millions of women, men, and teenagers each year. We also work with allies worldwide to ensure that all women and men have the right and the means to meet their sexual and reproductive health care needs.