Roundup: Justice Souter to Retire

May 1, 2009, 10:23am

Justice Souter to leave Supreme Court; North Carolina sex ed bill advances; thinking about "sexting;"Serve America Act bans abortion counseling and provision; World Bank's AIDS efforts fail to deliver; anti-choicer grades Obama's first 100 days.

Justice Souter to Leave Court
More on Supreme Court Justice David Souter’s planned retirement at the New York Times. Of the future makeup of the Court, the Times writes,

While Democrats will be happy to have a chance to put another
liberal on the court, a confirmation battle could prove to be one more
challenge for a president already engaged on multiple fronts to pass
health care, energy and other legislation. Mr. Obama would need to name
a nominee early enough for the Senate to hold hearings and vote by the
beginning of October to fill the seat in time for the next term.

During
a campaign debate last fall, Mr. Obama said the selection of a new
justice would be “one of the most consequential decisions of the next
president.” He said he would look for judges who had a strong judicial
record and “who hopefully have a sense of what real-world folks are
going through.”

On the always explosive issue of abortion, he
said he would “not provide a litmus test,” but added, “I am somebody
who believes that Roe versus Wade was rightly decided.”

North Carolina Sex Ed Bill Advances

A
North Carolina Senate panel approves a bill to require grades seven
through nine to provide two tracks for sexuality education: on that
includes information about contraception and one that is
abstinence-only. The bill has already passed in the House. The panel
also approved an anti-bullying measure, the Raleigh News-Record reports.

Thinking About "Sexting"

In The Nation, JoAnn Wypejewski takes on "sexting" and its grown-up detractors.

The recent attention to teen "sexting" has focused quite a lot on the
presumed self-exploitation of kids, not so much on the prurient reflex
of grown-ups who spy on and punish them. It has dwelt quite a lot on the
traps of technology, not so much on the desires that precede picking up
a camera. Quite a lot on the question of whether the teens are sex
offenders or merely stupid, sluttish or mean, not so much on the freedom
to see and be. Quite a lot on the legal meaning of images, not so much
on the ways in which making them might delight, or on the cultural
freakout that colors law, images and how they are perceived.

Serve America Act Bans Abortion Counseling

A
little-noticed provision in the Serve America Act prevents AmeriCorps
volunteers from discussing abortion care or referring for abortion
services, Amy Potthast writes at The New Service.

A new category has been added to the list of prohibited activities in
the new law that will take affect October 1: AmeriCorps staff and
members will be barred from “providing abortion services or referrals
for receipt of such services.” The category seems to be included in
order to quell the concerns of conservative groups that Federal funding
will go to support abortions since, for example, Planned Parenthood
chapters often host AmeriCorps members to work on public health
education topics…

While charging time to the AmeriCorps program, accumulating service
or training hours, or otherwise performing activities supported by the
AmeriCorps program or the Corporation for National and Community
Service, staff and all AmeriCorps members are prohibited from engaging in certain activities
—like attempting to influence legislation; assisting, promoting, or
deterring union organizing; and engaging in protests, petitions,
boycotts, or strikes.

World Bank’s AIDS Efforts Fail to Deliver

A new report suggests that the World Bank’s investment in combating AIDS have failed, the New York Times reports.

Seven of 10 AIDS projects that the bank financed around the world —
and 8 of 10 in Africa — had unsatisfactory outcomes, according to the
evaluation, released Thursday.

The
projects were typically too
complex for the weak or inexperienced bureaucracies carrying them out,
researchers found. And coordinating the plethora of donors, nonprofit
groups and government agencies involved made delivering results very
difficult. Global health experts suggested that focusing on AIDS in
isolation, without comparable funding for comprehensive health care
systems and accessible family planning, hampered efforts.

Anti-Choicer Grades Obama’s First 100 Days

And
finally — we know how we graded Obama’s first 100 days. Now take a
look at how the anti-choice movement, in the person of Family Research
Council VP Tom McClusky, evaluates him, at Dan Gilgoff’s blog. Some highlights:

December 10th, 2008 The Obama
transition team publishes a wish list from radical pro-abortion groups
of pro-abortion actions they would like to see from the Administration.

November 25th, 2008 President-elect Obama appoints
Melody Barnes, former board member for the pro-abortion EMILY’s List
and executive vice president for policy at the George Soros-funded
Center for American Progress, as director of the domestic policy
council.

December 1st, 2008 President-elect Obama nominates
pro-abortion advocate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) as Secretary of
State and pro-abortion advocate Susan Rice as Ambassador to the United
Nations…

March 5th, 2009 At the first White House summit on
health care reform the Obama administration invites numerous advocates
for abortion, including Planned Parenthood and the Human Rights
Campaign, but no advocates for conscience protections or the pro-life
position.