NCJW's BenchMark Campaign Marks Roe with Anniversary Call-in to Senate on Court Nominees January 16, 2002, Washington, DC - To mark the 29th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, members of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) will be taking the first steps in their national campaign to preserve the landmark Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the right to abortion for American women. On January 22, 2002, NCJW activists and supporters will be calling their US Senators, urging them to confirm only those judicial nominees who will uphold abortion rights as spelled out in Roe v. Wade. The Roe Anniversary Call-In is the inaugural activity of BenchMark: NCJW's Campaign to Save Roe, a national effort to educate and mobilize NCJW members, the Jewish community, and friends and allies everywhere to promote a federal bench with judges that support fundamental freedoms, including a woman's right to choose. "NCJW's BenchMark Campaign will rally the entire organization to ensure that the hard-won right of women to choose a safe, legal abortion will not be further undermined by a hostile judiciary," said NCJW President Jan Schneiderman."To launch our mobilization, we are asking our members to call their Senators and tell them that we are watching the confirmation process and that we expect them to vote only for nominees who will uphold Roe v. Wade." NCJW intends to educate, activate, and mobilize the Jewish community in the effort to preserve Roe. At the grass roots level, NCJW members will enlist their friends and acquaintances and reach out to the general public using all the tools at their disposal - from fliers to phone trees to e-mail lists to tables in shopping malls. Nationally, NCJW will use its website, magazine, newsletters, action alerts, and national meetings to implement the BenchMark campaign. "We're not only concerned about the Supreme Court," said NCJW President Schneiderman. "We have also pledged to oppose any nominee for the US Courts of Appeals who will not uphold Roe. Too many of our appeals court judges have chipped away at Roe based on their own ideological bent, and since the Supreme Court only grants full review to about 100 cases of the 7,500 it gets every year, the role of these judges cannot be overstated - the appellate courts almost always have the last word." NCJW is a volunteer organization, inspired by Jewish values, that works to improve the quality of life for women, children and families and to ensure individual rights and freedoms through research, education, advocacy, and community service programs initiated by its network of 90,000 volunteers, supporters and members nationwide.