As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we will be faced with the most hostile political climate the reproductive rights movement has ever encountered in modern history. As a result of recent elections, the control of the Senate passes to a leadership that-like that of the House and the administration-is vocally anti-choice and ready to put their words into action.

The day after Election Day, incoming Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott promised to pass and send on to the president a ban on so-called "partial-birth abortion" a sweeping attack on the central principle of Roe that a woman's life and health must be a physician's paramount concern. This proposed abortion ban, which has already passed in the House and will be re-introduced in the 108th Congress, directly flouts the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Stenberg v. Carhart which the Center won only two years ago. This marks only the beginning of the assault, however, for there are other bills undermining reproductive rights that have passed the House but had previously been blocked in the Senate. With the new anti-choice majority in both the House and Senate, these bills will now likely be passed and signed into law. They include:

• the "Child Custody Protection Act," which would make it a federal crime for any person other than a parent to help a minor travel to another state to obtain an abortion if she has not first complied with the forced parental involvement law in her home state;

• the "Abortion Non-Discrimination Act," which would shelter a broad range of health care entities-including health insurance plans-from penalties for refusing to provide abortion services, referrals, training and reimbursement, even where required by local, state or federal law; and

• the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act," which would be the first federal law to recognize a fertilized egg, embryo or fetus as an independent "victim" of a crime.

In addition to standing prepared to sign such legislation, President Bush has promised to pack the federal courts-including the U.S. Supreme Court-with judges ideologically opposed to reproductive rights. President Bush has also made clear that he wants senators to set aside their constitutional duty to scrutinize judicial nominees presented to them. Calling on the Senate to confirm his nominees quickly-and without adequate inquiry into their records and judicial philosophies-the president is seeking to fill the judiciary with individuals in the mold of the justices he most admires, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. These men are two of the most conservative members of the Supreme Court and are opposed to woman’s reproductive rights. With the addition of another anti-choice justice to the Court, the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade protecting a woman’s right to privacy would be severely jeopardized.

In these troubling times, the Center for Reproductive Rights' brand of creative legal advocacy is more important than ever. We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure women maintain their reproductive rights. We ask you to join us in this effort.