[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 9 (Monday, March 8, 1999)]
[Page 364]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Death of Harry A. Blackmun

March 4, 1999

    Justice Harry Blackmun, who died this morning, was a great American 
citizen. In 24 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Harry Blackmun served 
with compassion, distinction, and honor. Every decision and every 
dissent was firmly grounded in the Constitution he revered and his 
uncanny feel for the human element that lies just beneath the surface of 
all serious legal argument.
    You can see his mind and heart at work in the landmark decision he 
wrote protecting women's rights to reproductive freedom and in his 
decisions to make the promise of civil rights actually come alive in the 
daily existence of the American people.
    Hillary and I were deeply privileged to know Justice Blackmun and 
his wonderful wife of 58 years, Dottie, for quite a long while. I saw up 
close Harry Blackmun's intense passion--his passion for the welfare of 
the American people, for defending our liberties and our institutions, 
for moving us forward together. We send our respect and our prayers to 
Dottie and to his three daughters.
    To the millions of Americans whose voices he heard and whose rights 
he defended, to the countless numbers of us who knew and loved him, 
Harry Blackmun's life embodied the admonition of the prophet Micah: He 
did justice, and he loved mercy. And now, he walks humbly with his God.