President Trump announced the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to Merrick Garland’s seat on the Supreme Court. Jodi Magee, President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health, responds:
“The nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch is deeply concerning, as President Trump has promised that any judge he nominates will overturn Roe v. Wade. Any prospective Supreme Court nominee must hold views consistent with the Constitution and settled law about a woman’s ability to make her own reproductive health decisions. That must include upholding Roe v. Wade—the law of the land for 44 years. Women rely on this decision every day.
The founders of Physicians for Reproductive Health saw incredible suffering when abortion was illegal and women were forced to go outside of the medical field for a medical procedure. Those doctors were forever marked by their experiences treating patients who had perforated uteruses from knitting needles and wire hangers. Seeing this suffering made our founders determined to advocate for legal abortion across the country.
Not only do we need a justice will who preserve Roe v. Wade, we need someone who will focus on the evidence of what is and is not beneficial to women’s health. Burdensome restrictions that lessen access to abortion care do not advance women’s health, as the Supreme Court recognized in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.
As one of the 10th Circuit Court Judges who ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby, Judge Gorsuch put an employer’s personal beliefs over a patient’s right to access medical treatment. He has a record of undermining health care access for women and is not someone who will reject medically unnecessary restrictions that endanger women.
We cannot go backward or it will be at the expense of the well-being of the women our physicians care for every day. These are our friends, sisters, mothers, and daughters as one in three women will have an abortion in her lifetime. We urge the Senate to reject Judge Gorsuch because he does not meet the essential qualifications for service on our highest court.”
