Act Now to Appoint a Third Woman to the Supreme Court

Background:

Women's rights advocates cheered the appointment of Justice Sonia Sotomayor last year, who joined Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to raise the representation of women from 11 to 22 percent of the Supreme Court. Researchers estimate that women achieve critical mass when they make at least one-third of a group's membership. Now we have an opportunity to create that critical mass and get one justice closer to gender parity on the Supreme Court.

But any woman won't do. Women need a justice who will stand up for women's fundamental rights and freedoms. Given the role played by Justice Stevens, it is both acceptable and preferable that his replacement be a woman who will stand for:

• Fundamental privacy rights
• Enforcement of fair pay laws
• Equal opportunity and affirmative action laws
• Abortion and reproductive rights
• Full rights for all people regardless of sexual orientation

With radical right-wing activists attempting to codify marriage discrimination, overturn Roe v. Wade through fetal personhood laws and even criminalize miscarriage in the states, it is absolutely critical for the next Supreme Court justice to stand on the side of social justice. President Obama should choose from the list -- and it's a very long list -- of qualified women who fit that description and throw the full weight of his presidency behind her during the confirmation process.

Send an e-mail urging President Obama to nominate a woman to the Supreme Court who will advocate for equality and fair treatment under the Constitution.