For the first time in over a century, all three branches of government are up for grabs.

When Americans go to the polls in November, they will have a unique opportunity to pick our next president, decide on control of the U.S. Senate, and determine the direction of the U.S. Supreme Court. 

With the vacancy created on the Supreme Court due to Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the future of pro-life progress hangs in the balance with these monumental choices.  Pro-abortion advocates seek to return to an unrestricted Roe v. Wade world, where abortion is permitted until the day of birth (and in some circumstances, afterward) and the flood of recent state legislation that regulates the abortion industry is rolled back.

For example, one of the first cases heard after the death of Scalia, Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, would hold abortion facilities to commonsense health and safety standards, yet NARAL, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Planned Parenthood, and their allies in Congress have all decried these standards as discriminatory and unnecessary.

President Obama and his allies insist on installing his nominee on the Supreme Court before he leaves office.  If President Obama’s nominee were to be confirmed, it would be a huge victory for the pro-abortion side and a huge loss for unborn lives.  Letting President Obama flip Justice Scalia's vote would open the door for partial-birth abortion to be legal (Justice Scalia's fifth vote in Gonzales v. Carhart) and allow for state and federal governments to force individuals as well as churches to pay for abortions and drugs that act as abortifacients.  Do you believe that parents should be notified if their thirteen-year-old daughter is considering an abortion?  Or perhaps you believe that a newborn baby that survives an abortion should get medical attention?  This president and his allies disagree with all of these proposals and would accept only a Supreme Court nominee who agrees with them, not you, on what is extreme. 

We don’t have to guess about how a President Obama-appointed Supreme Court justice would vote in cases involving abortion.  When asked at a press conference on February 16 if he would put forth a moderate for the court, Obama quickly replied, "No."  Less than an hour after President Obama named his nominee, the head of abortion-giant Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards was seen entering the White House.  Less than an hour after that meeting, Ms. Richards released a statement praising the nominee.

With such radical changes at stake, the direction of the Supreme Court should be approved by the American people in this general election.  The U.S. Constitution gives the United States Senate the power to protect their vote this year.  And as Vice President Joe Biden has previously said, Supreme Court nominations during an election year are a political cauldron to avoid. 

The late Justice Scalia recognized was that over the last few decades, the Supreme Court has transformed from a judicial body to a legislative one – dictating laws to the American people.  It is time the American voter stand up for itself and put a halt to this extremism.

Tom McClusky is the vice president of government affairs for the March for Life Education & Defense Fund and March for Life Action.