> Alberto Gonzales' bio
> Questions NAF submitted to the Judiciary Committee for Alberto Gonzales
> Letter NAF sent to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
QUESTION:
Currently, the Department of Justice administers the Task Force on Violence Against Health Care Providers. Its purpose is to: coordinate national investigations and prosecutions of incidents of violence against health clinics and health professionals who provide abortion with a special focus on connections that may exist between individuals involved in criminal anti-abortion activities; serve as a clearinghouse for information relating to acts of violence against abortion providers, and collect and coordinate data identifying national trends related to such violence; make security recommendations to enhance the safety and protection of providers; assist the work of the U.S. Attorney's local working groups on clinic violence; enhance training of federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel on issues relating to clinic violence; and support federal civil investigation and litigation of abortion-related violence.
If you are confirmed will you keep the Task Force in place, and will its mission remain the same? Will you ensure that the Task Force has the resources necessary to carry out its mission?
RESPONSE:
If confirmed, I would maintain this Task Force and ensure that the level of resources necessary to its mission is maintained.
QUESTION:
In your view, is the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act a valid exercise of Congressional authority? Were the appellate court decisions upholding the Act [sic] were correctly decided? If a future Supreme Court accepted for review a case involving the constitutionality of the Act, would you defend the Act's constitutionality?
RESPONSE:
If confirmed, it would be my responsibility to enforce and defend all of Congress' enactments, which enjoy a presumption of constitutionality, where reasonable arguments can be made in support of those statutes. This Administration has previously defended FACE against constitutional challenge and I would continue that policy if confirmed.
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