Sarah Palin Criticized by Pro-Life Group For Latest Appointment to Supreme Court

From http://lifenews.com/state3921.html

Sarah Palin Criticized by Pro-Life Group For Latest Appointment to Supreme Court

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 6, 2009

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Juneau, AK (LifeNews.com) -- Sarah Palin fired up pro-life advocates during the presidential campaign and has a consistent pro-life record as the governor of Alaska. However, she is earning a black mark from some pro-life advocates who are upset she placed a former Planned Parenthood board member on the state Supreme Court.

Palin, on Wednesday, named Anchorage Superior Court Judge Morgan Christen as the second woman to serve on the state's highest court.

Christen's application made no mention of the fact that she is a former board member of Planned Parenthood and served the pro-abortion group in the mid 1990s.

Knowing that information, Jim Minnery, the director of the Alaska Family Council, a pro-life group, asked Palin officials to inform her and ask her not to name Christen to the court.

Minnery said Palmer Superior Court Judge Eric Smith, another of the handful of nominees the seven-member Alaska Judicial Council sent Palin for her consideration, was a better choice.

Minnery said Smith was "more conservative" and that Christen would be "another activist on the Court." He said that was a best guess from among pro-life leaders, but that he didn't have hard evidence to back up that assessment.

Palin's spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, told the Anchorage Daily News that Palin's office received the Family Council's concerns.

"I'll be seeing the governor tomorrow. We'll have a good chat," Minnery told the paper about what he would do to follow up the governor's pick of Christen.

Minnery says he is not upset with Palin and says the fault lies with the Judicial Council for sending her no candidates that his group could really get behind. He says Palin should have had the option of selecting the best person for the job rather than being limited to the choices the Council sent her.

The Alaska Supreme Court is a concern for pro-life advocates because it struck down a parental consent law regarding abortions and pro-life advocates are hoping Palin's first selection will help uphold a new one.