Pregnancy and Slavery

Dawn Johnsen is President Obama’s nominee to head the Justice Department’s office of legal counsel. Mrs. Johnsen is a professor at Indiana University’s law school. She has previously clerked on the 7th circuit and worked for the office of legal counsel.

She also has worked for the ACLU and for NARAL. The opinions that she has written on abortion are to say the least extreme. She has compared pregnancy to involuntary servitude. Any restrictions on abortion are rendered unconstitutional under the 13th amendment; the one that outlawed slavery. She also believes that any church that is publicly pro-life should lose their tax-exempt status.

The office of legal counsel is the office that advises the President and the Department of Justice on what is and what is not constitutional, and how the powers are to be separated.
Dawn Johnsen is running into critics on both sides of the aisle. The Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana is against her nomination to this post, Senator Bayh has a strong voting record on supporting abortion. The State Senate of Indiana is also against her nomination by a 60% margin, and is not shy about taking this position publicly. Mrs. Johnsen does have her allies as well; One being former Congressman Edwards, a republican from Oklahoma. He believes that her strong background in consitutional issues is what is needed today.

While I agree with Congressman Edwards that she does indeed have a very impressive resume, the problem remains that she has a paper trail that clearly states that the courts should be used to change current laws and restritctions on abortion through judicial activism. The person who gets this job must have a clear understanding of the separation powers as described in the constitution. The judiciary should never be used to achieve change. That is a legislative responsibility.

For all people who felt that the last administration pushed the limits of the constitution too far, then what is needed is someone who will uphold the written meaning of the constitution and nothing more. I do not believe the Dawn Johnsen is the person who fits that description.